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posted by martyb on Friday November 18 2016, @01:52AM   Printer-friendly
from the lost-art-of-double-clutching dept.

Visitors to the upcoming Los Angeles Auto Show will see supercars, hoverboards, self-propelling luggage and all manner of new transportation options.

But they'll be hard pressed to find a clutch pedal or a stick shift. Available in nearly half of new models in the U.S. a decade ago, the manual transmission is going the way of the rumble seat, with stick availability falling to about a quarter this year.

Once standard equipment on all motor vehicles, preferred for its dependability, fuel efficiency and sporty characteristics, the four-on-the-floor is disappearing from major car manufacturers' lineups — and subsequently from the sprawling auto show's floors.

Consider, too, that electric vehicles don't even have a transmission.


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  • (Score: 3, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 18 2016, @03:48AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 18 2016, @03:48AM (#428628)

    So he didn't teach you the right way? Correct sequence is to start with hand brake on, to hold the car on the hill. Or, if you have an old Saab or other car with "hill holder" or "No-back", then engage it.

    Depress clutch, put into first gear (to climb the hill). Then, with finger on the button so the hand brake is not ratcheting, release the hand brake while feeding a little throttle and releasing the clutch. Done correctly there is no rolling backwards...and minimal wear to the clutch.

    If the pedals are reasonably arranged, you can also get the same effect with "heel and toe" action, once you have trained some independent ankle control. Right toes on the brake pedal while right heel is on the throttle, for most pedal locations. Left foot releases the clutch, right heel feeds a little throttle while right toes lift off the brake pedal.

    Race car pedals may allow you to cover brake and throttle pedals with your right foot and rock side to side. But these are no longer sold for street cars, I believe because separating the throttle and brake pedals may help to reduce the mis-application of the pedals (aka, "unintended acceleration" due to driver error).

    Some (mostly vintage) race cars have the throttle in the center of the pedal cluster. Since the foot tends to angle outward, this makes heel on the throttle and toe on the brakes a more natural motion.

    Once you master "heel and toe", then start using your feet on other pedals:
        + On the flat, practice starting off in first gear with the engine at idle...using your *right* foot on the clutch. (Left foot too, this helps to train for a smooth clutch engagement).
        + On long drives without cruise control, use your left foot on the throttle to hold speed (give your right foot a rest). Make sure to practice moving left foot from throttle to brake...
        + On any car (even automatic) practice braking (on empty roads) with both right and left feet.

    Suggestion -- practice alone before trying to show off your new skills to anyone else...!

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  • (Score: 2) by hemocyanin on Friday November 18 2016, @04:17AM

    by hemocyanin (186) on Friday November 18 2016, @04:17AM (#428650) Journal

    This is also a real handy technique at the boat launch where rolling backwards can really dampen your day.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 18 2016, @05:00AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 18 2016, @05:00AM (#428668)

    > Once you master "heel and toe", then start using your feet on other pedals:

    Why?
    So if you get in an accident trying to drive with the wrong feet you won't have to retrain?

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 18 2016, @05:59AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 18 2016, @05:59AM (#428702)

    old Saab

    USAian cars:

    My 1965 subcompact still had a "hand" brake.
    You worked that with your left hand.
    To use it, you had to lean forward into a not-good-for-driving position.

    My 1967 pony car had an "emergency brake".
    You operated that with your left foot.
    To release it, you had to lean forward into a not-good-for-driving position.

    My buddy's 1969 TBird had the left-foot deal but, as soon as you put the car in gear, that automatically released the "emergency brake".
    If you bought a TBird with a manual transmission, you still had the stupid left-hand-and-lean type "emergency brake".

    When Mustangs got smaller in 1974, they finally put back in an actual hand brake in an intelligent place (center-mounted and worked with your right hand).

    There have been a lot of years and a lot of makes/models where USAian cars were quite stupidly designed.

    -- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 18 2016, @06:05AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 18 2016, @06:05AM (#428706)

      My buddy's 1969 TBird had the left-foot deal but, as soon as you put the car in gear, that automatically released the "emergency brake".

      Well, sometimes.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 18 2016, @08:34AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 18 2016, @08:34AM (#428741)

    aka, "unintended acceleration" due to driver error

    Doesn't happen in a manual / stick shift. Sure you may rev the engine if you accidentally step on the gas rather than the brake, but the left foot is still on the clutch.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 18 2016, @10:15AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 18 2016, @10:15AM (#428772)

      Unless the clutch sticks.
      I have personally had that experience with my first car. A 1983 nissan sentra.

  • (Score: 2) by fritsd on Friday November 18 2016, @02:46PM

    by fritsd (4586) on Friday November 18 2016, @02:46PM (#428837) Journal

    That's kind of how I learnt it; but I've never on purpose operated the brake and throttle with one foot. I still hate to do that manoeuvre, since nobody seems to keep proper distance in this country, they clamber right up my ass, expecting that my car will move forward rather than backward crashing into theirs. No room for errors :-(

  • (Score: 3, Informative) by fliptop on Friday November 18 2016, @04:24PM

    by fliptop (1666) on Friday November 18 2016, @04:24PM (#428907) Journal

    release the hand brake while feeding a little throttle and releasing the clutch

    The "hand" brake (also called the emergency brake) technique isn't as effective as learning where the clutch starts to engage and timing your right foot switch from the brake to the gas accordingly. The way to learn isn't baptism by fire, it's starting off on a level surface and finding that spot, feeling how the engine starts to loose RPMs, figuring out how much gas to give and how fast to finish the clutch release. Both my daughters learned in the farm truck using this technique. For some time growing up they were the only ones amongst their peers who knew how to drive one.

    --
    Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.