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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 damnbunni on Saturday November 09 2019, @12:56PM (4 children)
The reason the manufacturers don't make those vehicles with a manual transmission is that they didn't sell.
If 'a lot' of buyers would rather have a truck with a stick, they would still offer them. But 'a lot' don't. 'a few' do. It's not worth the design cost.
Same with sports cars. Modern high-end automatics are faster than a stick. And they're more efficient, too. A stick-shift Civic gives up about 5 MPG to the automatic.
The only reason to buy a car with a stick is that you find it fun. Which is a perfectly valid reason to get one. But not enough people find rowing their own to be fun that it's worth selling many models that way.
(Score: 2) by inertnet on Saturday November 09 2019, @01:31PM (3 children)
Another reason why high end sports cars don't make manual transmissions anymore, is because with their high powered engines, the clutch and transmission can't be protected from driver error. One little mistake can burn the clutch or ruin the transmission, or even the engine, resulting in enormous repair costs. Car owners often tried to claim warranty, so in response the manufacturers stopped offering manual transmissions.
(Score: 2) by RS3 on Saturday November 09 2019, @03:49PM (2 children)
All of the above can be damaged, plus axles, differential gears, "U"-joints, CV joints, tires, etc.
Also, the PCM (Powertrain Control Module) controls the engine and automatic transmission together for best power, efficiency, stability, emissions, etc. and you lose that control with a manual.
I've replaced clutches in good old-fashioned rear-drive vehicles. Not fun, but doable by a reasonably handy person and some inspiration. Clutches are much much more difficult to replace now, even in rear-drive trucks- there's so much more stuff to disconnect now.
More and more vehicles are 4wd / AWD, and again, so so much more difficult to replace a clutch.
Ask anyone who hauls heavy things or plows snow, etc.- very very busy with a clutch, and you'll burn up clutches fast.
You can often still manually shift an AT, as I often do, mainly to prevent unnecessary shifting when I'm in stop-and-go traffic.
Interesting thought: with electronic throttles, and a motor-controlled clutch, you could have an electronic clutch pedal and the PCM could control the throttle and clutch and not burn up the clutch. Not as much fun as a real sports car, but might be a good compromise for people who love stick in stop-and-go traffic (ugh!).
(Score: 3, Interesting) by inertnet on Saturday November 09 2019, @04:21PM (1 child)
In response to your interesting thought, theoretically it shouldn't be too hard to add such a clutch pedal to an existing dual-clutch transmission (DCT).
(Score: 2) by RS3 on Saturday November 09 2019, @11:33PM
Admittedly I'm firmly clamped onto the back porch of technology. Dual-clutch trans... oh wow, that's pretty cool. Here's an interesting one: https://www.magna.com/products/power-vision/product/dual-clutch-transmissions [magna.com] Wonder how much they cost...
So yeah, I still don't know the answer, but a clutch pedal with some kind of spring for feel, and a sensor (potentiometer) and the PCM could actuate the clutches for you. It looks like the concept is that you're shifting, or pre-selecting the next gear, then hit the clutch and you switch to the other clutch which drives that gear, with very minimal decouple time.
Hmmm... too new to me, so I'll have to study more, but I've occasionally gone from like 2 to 4, and with the DCT, one would have to decouple the even-gear clutch, shift, and re-engage the same clutch. So you lose the advantage of the minimal decouple time the DCT gives you. Gotta think some more when more awake...
Automatics have come such a long way. 7-speed is not uncommon. The gas mileage is usually higher with automatics these days. I'd have a stick for a fun car (well, I have one but who knows if I'll ever get it on the road...)