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EVs are now outselling manual transmissions in the US
The manual transmission continues to have a pretty tough time here in America, with buyers avoiding manual-transmission cars in record numbers. Such record numbers that now EV sales have surpassed sales of vehicles with manual transmissions, according to data from J.D. Power and reported recently by Driving.ca.
Why is that important? Well, the venerable stick shift has been around since someone decided that cars needed more than one gear. While its previous popularity has been eclipsed by the automatic transmission for decades, the manual transmission has managed to hang on.
According to J.D. Power, manual transmissions have approximately 1.1% market penetration in America, which for many enthusiasts is a fairly grim figure to see. Comparatively, electric vehicles -- which have really only been commercially available to the public for the last decade or so -- now represent 1.9% of car sales in the US.
A big chunk of the reason for this likely lies in good old-fashioned availability. The manual transmission used to be the cheap transmission of choice. It was what you got when you were buying a small, affordable car and didn't want to shell out several thousand dollars for an automatic.
Now, most of those same small, affordable cars are only sold as automatics. The manual transmission was also traditionally the way you'd go if you wanted to buy a high-performance car because old automatics were often slow to shift and shifted at the wrong time. That's also changed, with many of the most high-performing models from companies offered with either paddle-shifted dual-clutch transmissions or performance-tuned automatics.
It was only a matter of time as fewer and fewer cars with manual transmissions are being manufactured at the same time as more and more electric vehicles are being built. Who here saw this coming so soon?
(Score: 3, Informative) by pTamok on Saturday November 09 2019, @11:05AM (16 children)
Very few people care about performance optimised driving. Most buy vehicles to minimise the effort in getting themselves and 'stuff' from A to B.
I look forward to when an auto-transmission can change down in anticipation of a corner better than I can. With AI-assisted-driving cars, that moment is probably around about now, but not in mass production.
I hate auto-transmissions that change down part way round a corner in response to me adding demand via the accelerator - the short pause and drop in power as the change-down occurs really upsets the dynamics. Yes, I can push the paddle, or put the auto-lever specifically into a specific ratio, but that isn't an auto-transmission.
The thing about a manual transmission is that you can choose the gear ratio in anticipation of road conditions; not in (necessarily delayed) response to changing torque loads on the engine. This is important to a small number of people.
(Score: 1) by zoward on Saturday November 09 2019, @11:37AM (10 children)
Seconded. My first car was a stick, and I ended up teaching several of my friends (and my eventual wife) how to drive one. It was cheaper than an automatic. It gave me more control over the engine, e.g., you could acceelerate faster. . It had better gas mileage than an automatic. A clutch was easier and cheaper to replace than a transmission. It also gave you some insight into the car works. I remember looking under the hood of an antique auto not too long ago, with the engine off, and you could actually see the clutch move.
I'd still drive one if I could. Unfortunately, I had to go to an automatic for two reasons. Stop and go traffic is a pain in a car with a stick (you have to ride the clutch a LOT), and I have a vicious commute. Also, fewer and fewer people know how to drive one, so if I needed someone else to drive my car, they often couldn't. I still miss it, though.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Pslytely Psycho on Saturday November 09 2019, @02:39PM (4 children)
Yeah, it can be a bit of a pain in stop and go traffic. Of course you can avoid riding (and excessively wearing out) the clutch as I learned driving semi trucks. Let the vehicle in front of you move about three quarters of a car length, open the clutch enough to get moving, push it back in and coast to a stop. Relieves a lot of the wear. Not that it's fun mind you, just reduces the maintenance costs.
Also the main reason I tried to enter large cities at night unless I had no choice in the matter.
Alex Jones lawyer inspires new TV series: CSI Moron Division.
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Saturday November 09 2019, @04:52PM (3 children)
You can also just not give a damn if the vehicle in front of you moves less than a car length. You're not going to get there any faster by covering that distance now as opposed to later and nobody can cut in front of you if there's not room for them to fit.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2) by Pslytely Psycho on Sunday November 10 2019, @01:04AM (2 children)
True, but in a semi especially, I frequently ran across the "move into any open space large enough for my car syndrome even though I only gained six inches of forward distance" stupidity. Now I don't live in a city with totally snarled traffic like Seattle or San Francisco (or deity forbid, NYC!) but even then I do see lane bunny's who think hopping lanes every chance they get gives them some mystical advantage. I don't even bother to attempt countering them as they make no difference to my travel time in any meaningful way.
After re-reading your comment I realized I missed part of your meaning. I wasn't referring to traffic at a total standstill, but traffic that is "inching" along. That's why I mentioned moving at 3/4 car length before space becomes available to be cut off and otherwise just sitting there and not trying to 'match' their speed. I only close the distance a moment before it becomes available, or earlier in especially aggressive traffic that repeatedly noses in to 'claim' that lane. In a commercial vehicle of any size this is extremely common. You attempt to drive with courtesy for your fellow drivers, even though that courtesy is rarely returned. Oddly I ran into the least in New Jersey (Tough "yo, yer bustin' my bawls here" reputation, but more likely to give a big truck room) and the most in Pennsylvania with NYC and Miami being nearly as bad as Pennsylvania and every other big city falling somewhere in between. Most drivers either seem to be blind to a big trucks existence, or think 18 wheels, 18 brakes (it's only 10 as four wheels are duelies) and can stop instantly which is totally not true and a surefire way to find out if there is life after death. There is a delay in air brakes that doesn't exist in hydraulic systems due to the compressible nature of air. Of course with the last sentence I'm referring to Seattle where they pull into a 70mph freeway at 40mph frequently without really looking. Large cities each seem to have their own personalities and you have to account for it. In general, the more people, the less courtesy and the more aggression.
Of course driving a car as opposed to commercially are totally different and a commercial driver is likely to be afforded more aggression from traffic due to a variety of factors, so I likely have driving biases that car only drivers don't. I was merely passing on a decades worth of knowledge about how to reduce clutch wear in heavy, aggressive traffic.
But, can't fix stupid now can we?
***note*** Some aggro driving seems more statewide in some cases than others, the reason I mentioned PA and NJ over a specific city. This is all based on my very biased real world experience and YMMV. Happy motoring!
Alex Jones lawyer inspires new TV series: CSI Moron Division.
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Sunday November 10 2019, @02:09AM (1 child)
I've been all the hell over most everywhere north, south, and east of Amarillo you can go without crossing a border and the worst drivers I've found are in Austin. Chicago was courteous as fuck compared to those cocksuckers. Actually, Chitown ain't bad period as far as courtesy goes, they just have a slightly different definition of what's courteous since all their driving is done in extremely congested streets. Houston's pretty bad too but that's just lack of knowing what the fuck they're doing rather than setting out to see how big of a fucktard they can be on the way home like they do in Austin.
In an 18 wheeler? Sure, just be a little slow to hit the brake.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2) by Pslytely Psycho on Sunday November 10 2019, @08:26AM
Yeah, Chi-town isn't too bad at all. Haven't been there for a few years but I was through there for the several years they rebuilt the Dan Ryan Expressway. The new pass though tolls and widened road really improved traffic. I've only been through Austin a few times, mostly at night so I never really got the 'Austin Experience.' New Jersey overall surprised me the most I think. Never a problem changing lanes, not 'courteous' but efficient. and over the river in NYC, an entirely different metric and attitude.
L.A. wasn't nearly as bad as the reputation, but San Francisco makes up for it, horrendous drivers.
Bad driving though, seems pretty universal.
We have a sign exiting Fairchild AFB (or used too, haven't been on the base in a decade) that said something like "You are now entering the most dangerous place in America, the United States Highway system."
Best description ever.
Alex Jones lawyer inspires new TV series: CSI Moron Division.
(Score: 3, Informative) by dry on Saturday November 09 2019, @06:39PM (4 children)
OTOH, a manual is a good theft preventive as the thieves seldom know how to use it.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by The Mighty Buzzard on Sunday November 10 2019, @02:15AM (3 children)
Good for ADHD kids to learn to drive on as well. Being forced to be more mentally engaged with their driving starting out trains their brains to hyperfocus on the task at hand even if they later switch to an automatic. It's been a few years since I read the study that came from but how much better drivers the ones who started on manual were was pretty astounding.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2) by dry on Sunday November 10 2019, @03:59AM (2 children)
Yes, it is quite believable that starting on a manual makes a better driver. While I started on an automatic, my second vehicle and most after have been manuals. Only thing I like better about an automatic is stop and go rush hour driving.
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Sunday November 10 2019, @04:24AM (1 child)
Yeah, I really don't get anyone who's a Linux user driving an automatic. Well, maybe systemd fans.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 10 2019, @07:35AM
Fuck Systemd.
FUCK SYSTEMD.
(Score: 2) by SunTzuWarmaster on Saturday November 09 2019, @11:48AM (1 child)
So my household just picked up a used 2016 Nissan Leaf. It joins our 2008 Toyota Yaris (stick shift) as part of the fleet. First - holy nonsense we are a minority market. Perhaps no one in both the 1.1% and 1.9% categories?
Second, the cost/mile of the Honda Civic that the Leaf replaced was about $0.10. The cost/mile of the Yaris is about $0.07 (30% cheaper than Civic). The cost/mile of the Nissan Leaf, however, is $0.03. The purchase price of the Civic was $15K, Yaris was $10K, and Leaf was $11K. Very simply, the Leaf is a better car - faster, more efficient, more spacious, and better driving experience than the other two cars. The only thing we have been waiting for is range - and 2016 was the year that Nissan upgraded to the 110 mile range (functionally:90, after aging) with DC rapid-charging. We've just been waiting for the 2016 Leaf SL/SV to come into striking distance for the last 3 years ($30K purchase price blows away any cost/mile savings).
The 'B' mode in the Leaf uses "one pedal driving" to downshift and recoupe power around turns. I *highly* recommend it, because it is vastly superior to anything I can do int he stick shift.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 09 2019, @12:45PM
The glorious future of coal powered cars!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 09 2019, @02:17PM (2 children)
Thanks. I drive one of the few cars only available in manual. I hate automatic's after-the-fact decision making too. And sequential shift modes offered on some models are typically too damn slow anyway. Especially the last one I used that had EIGHT gears. Sure, that's amazing for optimal fuel efficiency on the highway, but when I need to go from 8 to 4 to get some power? By the time I reach the gear I need it may already have become futile. It was faster to stay in full automatic mode and slam the gas pedal down. How embarrassing that NOT changing gears myself was better...
There is no question what is happening and will happen when you retain full control of the transmission. You never need to hope the car does the right thing, or doesn't suddenly change a gear by itself anyway, which I have seen by these sequential shifters. And you can drive the car in different styles. You can opt for driving economically. You can get maximum power when you need it, or simply want it. You can have a safer approach to poor weather conditions. I grew up on the idea of lingering in a lower gear on purpose in severe rain to increase the chance of preserving traction when you need to change speeds. You could skid or hydroplane if you brake too much when the ground's really wet. Ever heard of someone sliding due to engine braking alone? I haven't.
Naturally I can't prove this but I wish there were more of these as being required to understand how to control the car yields a better driver that pays attention. Now we have cars changing their own gears, correcting their own steering to avoid lane departure, beeping with obstacles in blind spots or behind the rear bumper, and cruise control adjusting itself. All of this promotes less and less skill, more and more errors, mistakes, and the worst of the worst to some poor bastard trying to ride a bicycle. If Americans are so lazy then the era of fully self-driving cars can't come soon enough. Let the computers keep everyone safe while the rest of us that like to drive do our thing and do it right.
For lots of fun, consider why is it that 1% of cars are manual but 99% of motorcycles are manual? I have heard bikes have automatic. But I haven't seen one yet.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 09 2019, @02:57PM
> some poor bastard trying to ride a bicycle
Hey, I'm a rich bastard trying to ride a bicycle--do these self-driving cars discriminate?(grin)
> I have heard bikes have automatic
A few years back a friend lucked into a Hondamatic CM450A at the right price (might have been given to him). I rode it once, nice and smooth, kind of slow. Start in low gear, then shift to high if you want to go faster, easy peasy, no clutch.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hondamatic#Motorcycle [wikipedia.org]
(Score: 3, Informative) by Runaway1956 on Saturday November 09 2019, @03:22PM
Black ice. My response to black ice is to stand on the clutch, and just let the speed bleed off. Don't touch the brakes, not even trailer brakes if you have them. Nothing you do will ever be the right thing to do on black ice. Luckily, I don't think it ever lasts for long. If you can get stopped safely, and don't get run over, you'll be on your way again in a half or so.