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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 Pslytely Psycho on Sunday November 10 2019, @09:37AM (2 children)
"modern manufacturing makes a manual pointless as there's no longer a performance or economy or reliability gain by going manual."
Provably false on a dynamometer. A typical performance standard transmission loses about 15-18% of the engine's power. An automatic loses 18-22%.
Alex Jones lawyer inspires new TV series: CSI Moron Division.
(Score: 2) by xorsyst on Monday November 11 2019, @10:59AM (1 child)
Provably false in theory - in reality, the vast majority of drivers are really not very good at getting high mileage out of their manual transmissions, and that's why real-life figures for equivalent autos come out better then their manual counterparts.
It's also partly why manuals remain popular in Europe, as manufacturers are allowed to quote "real world" mileage figures by hiring a pro driver to drive in the most eco-friendly way. The manuals get quite a bit higher than the autos in those figures. If you later look at real-life figures a couple of years later, the manual never get close to their advertised capabilities, whereas the autos very nearly do.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Pslytely Psycho on Monday November 11 2019, @09:35PM
Ah, fuck. I wrote quite a nice dissertation that I had to scrap just before submitting due to a massive reading fail on my part. It was eloquent, not insulting nor dismissive, covered the points and ultimately was utterly wrong and bone-headed. I completely misunderstood your point. Glad I re-read before posting.
Never reply before coffee.
Yes you are correct, and my post should of been more clearly limited to the purely technical performance aspect as I am well aware that the art of driving a manual transmission is a fading skill, now more useful as a theft deterrent than a real world benefit of economy. Pure performance driving itself will fade out completely in a generation or so as driving itself disappears in favor of autonomous chauffeurs unless some as yet undiscovered fatal flaw shows up that renders it impossible. Something I highly doubt. In the early days the difference between a 2 speed slushbox and a 4 speed manual was so massive the worst driver got better performance, fuel economy and reliability out of a manual. Modern smooth-shift and clutchless transmissions have blurred the lines significantly and this is no longer true.
I realize I may be among the last couple of generations that has the opportunity to experience the thrill, excitement and pure joy only driving a vehicle at the edge of it's performance envelope while fully in control of all of its elements can provide.
For total fun though, nothing beats a Lenco! And it virtually guarantees even someone who can drive stick won't steal your car!
http://www.superchevy.com/how-to/transmission/sucp-0102-lenco-street-transmissions/ [superchevy.com]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJIbpijYBVQ [youtube.com]
This is very similar to a friends car, the only one I ever drove (with supervision!). His was the same year, red and not nearly as powerful as this one. Unfortunately he died from a drunk driver taking him out back in 1989. But shows they can be used on the street.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfPoAUdvswQ [youtube.com]
Alex Jones lawyer inspires new TV series: CSI Moron Division.