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The Disappearing Stick Shift: Less Than 3% of Cars Sold in the U.S. Have Manual Transmissions

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

Phoenix666 writes:

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: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 18 2016, @05:40PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 18 2016, @05:40PM (#428950)

    > various types of electric motors (including brushless DC motors and polyphase induction motors) can be run at low speeds without loss of power or torque. Since you can simply adjust the rotational speed of the motor, it is no longer as important to be able to change gear ratios.

    Don't be so sure, and be careful about mixing up power and torque--two different things.

    For given magnetic field strength and number of poles, a larger diameter motor will make more torque -- purely a function of the geometry, torque = force x lever_arm_length.

    On the other hand, a smaller motor, spinning faster, with a gear reduction box can make the same output torque as the larger diameter direct drive motor. For many use-cases, the smaller motor + gear reduction is a cheaper, lighter solution.