SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
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.
This discussion has been archived.
No new comments can be posted.
The Disappearing Stick Shift: Less Than 3% of Cars Sold in the U.S. Have Manual Transmissions
|
Log In/Create an Account
| Top
| 123 comments
| Search Discussion
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
Remember Darwin; building a better mousetrap merely results in smarter mice.
(Score: 1) by toddestan on Saturday November 19 2016, @01:16AM
I've noticed the opposite in many cars. The automatic may have less gears, but the gears are set up so that when the automatic is in overdrive the engine is turning slower than the manual in its highest gear. That's certainly the case for my car, which has a 4-speed auto. I've driven the manual 5-speed version and on the highway I'm constantly wanting to shift into the non-existent 6th gear because the RPMs are noticeably higher than my car on the highway so it feels like it's not in the highest gear. That's also why if you look at the stated mileage on many cars, the manual version gets better mileage in the city but the automatic gets better mileage on the highway. So manual transmissions are still more efficient, all other things being equal. But since the gearing is not equal, often the automatic will have an edge on the manual in some situations.
I'm not sure why they do that. Perhaps they think people don't want to have to downshift to pass on the freeway? Or maybe they figure that people buy the manual version because it's more fun and hence want the closer spaced gears?
(Score: 2) by yarp on Tuesday November 22 2016, @12:26PM
With my automatic gearbox, engine speed is higher in top gear as compared to the manual (but not by more than a couple of hundred RPM). Top is also the only gear which is mechanically-linked rather than hydraulically so drivetrain losses ought to be at their lowest, as I understand it.
After more than a decade of driving only a manual I've found the auto can be just as much fun when you've learnt its quirks. It has an automatic "sport" mode which changes shift points based on how hard you mash the accelerator pedal. One downside is that the car is a little more front-heavy.