Each decade that passes, fewer people report knowing how to start an engine with a hand crank.
I've seen my uncle do it. He said you don't grip it with your hand, else you might break your arm should the motor jerk the crank away. Never did it myself.
Well if you’re ever in the Detroit area, stop by Ford’s Greenfield Village and they’ll happily give you rides in their Model T fleet. If you want to sit up front and ask questions, they’ll be glad to show you how to drive it (but not let you drive it - you need to get your own).
> which I guess makes sense if you think about what counted for a road in the 1910s.
Speaking of, there's a good book (although I admit I've barely started) called "American Road" by Pete Davies which draws a vivid picture of what roads were like and the politics involved in even deciding whether government should be involved in road building.
Its primary goal is describing a military motor train that crossed the country in 1919 (and may well have been a key opportunity that kept Eisenhower from leaving the military...history has some fascinating turning points).
In contrast with this example (and the other nested examples), manual transmissions are still broadly available in your new 2021 vehicle straight from the manufacturer.
“Most budget lines” (which I’m skeptical is accurate) is different from “broadly available”, but I suppose lacking any precise definitions of either phrase it’s not a useful argument.
Well, as one counter-example, because there's far too much data to dig out of the aether, as far as I can tell there are only two manufacturers selling manual pickups: Jeep and Toyota.
No Chevy, Dodge, GMC, Ford. That's just one huge gap.
Update: also, if you extend that to SUVs, one of the hottest markets, I think the only model you add is the Ford Bronco.
So there are no entry-level pickups or SUVs as manuals. For CUVs you could probably add Kia Soul and Mazda, but not much else.
In reality, manuals are barely available at all. Dealers rarely stock them, so you have to special order. And then the manufacturer forces you to either take “Option Package A” if you want the manual, or decides that you absolutely cannot have “Option Package B” if you choose the manual. All the choices go away once you’ve decided on a manual. It’s like they are offering them to make the magazine writers happy but doing their best to make sure nobody buys one.
IMO they're really there to provide the cheapest possible option for there "starting from as low as $X" marketing spiels. Of course they don't want to sell them if they can - they don't make anybody much money.
Yet they do exist (and from most major manufacturers), and if you're not after the bells and whistles, they make for a reasonable investment.
The article seems like a short fluff piece with the ultimate conclusion of: Why? It's easier.
I've driven manual transmission vehicles for most of my adult life, my last 4 cars have been automatic. My wife isn't willing to learn how to drive one.
The single thing I prefer about manual transmission vs automatic: direct throttle response
If you tap the throttle, the vehicle responds to it. If you take your foot off the throttle, the engine braking starts and you slow down very effectively.
You become accustomed to the sounds and feel of your vehicle, and can tell when it's not running correctly.
The only place automatics are preferable is in stop & go traffic.
Random question from someone who knows little about transmission, but aren't CVTs closer to giving the best of both worlds?
I've driven automatic transmissions all my life, but I've really enjoyed my CVT transmission because I can go into a seven-speed manual mode (that I mostly only use for engine braking).
Reviews of many CVT equipped vehicles are pretty consistent in complaints about the transmissions. Have been looking at 5 different brands and while they offer better mileage, there are many complaints about gearing and reliability.
Car makers program CVTs to act like automatics, almost completely eliminating the benefit of a CVT. I’ve got a Subaru with a CVT and I’ve become used to it; I’ll never love it. Mine is the H6 engine paired to the heavy duty CVT. It’s a good thing it will last a long time, as it’s going to be my last Subaru (I’ve driven both the NA and turbo 4 with the CVT and would never buy one).
Subaru CVTs are especially bad from what I've heard. I tried a WRX with one back in 2015, but unfortunately I wasn't too experienced with them to really tell how bad it was. Went with a manual a few years later, though.
A perfect CVT is ideal from an technical standpoint.
Manuals are just more fun if you enjoy that sort of thing - there's a bit of skill keeping the engine RPM in the power band.
As an aside, I do a bit of track time in an Automatic - it's like having a super power if you're a novice as there's very few people who really know how to shift properly. That being said, a Manual is so much more fun.
> The only place automatics are preferable is in stop & go traffic.
There are also some off-roading advantages, although in general it’s a mixed bag. You don’t want to shift while your clutch is underwater, for example, and from what I understand driving in sand is easier in an auto due the smoother shifts and corresponding lack of a loss in momentum.
Also, for extreme rock crawling, it’s helpful to have feet on both gas and brake, plus no burning up the clutch.
(I’m far from an expert, I don’t crawl rocks, and my primary Jeep is a stick, so this is primarily hearsay.)
At least until petrol is on sale, manual gearbox cars of the sporty kind will probably keep going up in price due to scarcity and the fact that they’re engaging to drive and the performance is limited by skill unlike autos, which are limited by the tech of the time.
Thats fine. This is like complaining most common people don't use command line interfaces anymore. EVs like model 3 erode the manual advantage with instant torque anyways.
As long as there are markets where displacement is taxed there will be manual transmissions.
A manual transmission lets YOU choose when to shift. That means you can keep the 1L engine that's pulling around your 5000lb barge up high near its peak power and get the performance you want. Contrast with an automatic transmission where you get the performance some engineer deems is an acceptable balance between what you want and what the company thinks is best for its fuel economy stats.
I was unpleasantly surprised the first (and so far only) time I drove a stick with an indicator on the dash that would light when the computer thought it was time for me to shift.
I think I’d have to place electrical tape over those indicators.
How dare the engineer decide what's best for the engine?
Literally every automatic has the ability to shift into first gear as needed. Hell, my automatic 4-banger Dodge Neon had first gear and that thing couldn't tow a tricycle.
What do people do about long hills and mountains in an automatic? I've not driven an automatic that doesn't have a manual mode in mountains. Maybe it's not that big a deal to ride the brakes the whole way down? Do modern CVTs have some sort of manual override?
You can downshift most automatics manually or to a “low” gear for downhill. Not sure how many drivers are aware of it or are comfortable using it though.
Modern automatics are smart enough to downshift when coasting down a steep hill. I've driven a Duramax with the Allison up and down mountains. Absolutely amazing. You just slightly touch the brake pedal, and it downshifts and the exhaust brake enables.
Silly article, but it makes sense. I have an 85 VW Vanagon (Transporter) camper with a sloppy 4-spd that needs the shift fix kit installed. It's my security device.
Why bother? Ever since automatic transmissions got lockup clutches, they've been as effective at power transfer as manuals. It's been 80 years since the GM Hydramatic, after all.
I've driven a diesel tow truck with a manual before. It gets really tedious driving a manual when you redline at 3000 rpm and your final drive is geared to be able to pull a Honda out of a ditch.
Vans in the UK (almost exclusively diesel thanks to the torque) tend to be quite long geared. If you aren't hauling much you can even often skip a gear and shift up quite eagerly. I don't find manual vans very tedious, but then again, I've never had an auto van! I'd say they either don't exist or are exceedingly rare in the van rental market in the UK (I can't imagine an auto tow truck existing either)
I drive a car and a motorcycle. Like most cars, mine is automatic. Like most motorcycles, mine is manual. I wondered why this was the case when I decided to get my license and asked the instructor. Surprisingly, they do make automatic transmission-based bikes[0]. My instructor's opinion on the matter was "I'd only be caught dead on one of those. They're fsckin' dangerous as hell." explaining that control through a turn is handled by throttle/engine braking, rapidly down-shifting in emergency situations, and being able to tightly control every aspect of the bike is how you stay safe.
My thinking was that it was one of those things where "a new rider would be less safe because there's more to manage but an old rider would be more safe because they have a greater degree of control." I learned, quickly, that an 800lb bike with a big engine requires a lot more careful control through a tight turn than the "mountain-bike with a weed whacker engine" on it that we trained on--especially when said operator is 150lbs soaking wet. And while older riders benefit more, new riders are incredibly unsafe* until they've sorted out the "friction zone", throttle/shifting/gear ratios of their particular bike -- when you understand how your bike reacts from/between each gear and find yourself deciding between a dangerous white-knuckle-hard-stop[1] or a rapid down-shift, throttle and controlled escape, you're almost always safer escaping first, stopping second[2]. Escaping might require a downshift depending on where you're at. Left hand, left foot, throttle, release all happen at once and you hold on. :)
Having that level of control also makes it feel like you're doing something more than having a device move you from point A to point B* which makes it more fun, for me. Unfortunately, when it comes to a car, I have 4 wheels and do not have to manage lateral momentum as much around a turn. Having the half-second decrease in downshift time will give me more power but at the expense of an enormous amount of fuel and rarely to my benefit[3]. And just about every other feature of the car, except for the entertainment pieces, is designed to make driving as mindless/simple as possible. The only benefit, especially compared against modern/higher-end automatic transmissions--for cars--seems to be "it's fun".
[0] And, I'd imagine, electric motorcycles won't have power transmissions systems that require shifting.
[1] I have an ABS bike; similarly hated feature, because the thing it tries to save you from: wheel lock and a trip over the handlebars/under the bike, it often just converts into a less controllable version of the same result at a longer stopping distance. And being the stopped/out of control vehicle in an orderly set of moving vehicles is not good for anyone.
[2] Next time you see some dude on a crotch rocket like a complete jack-ass, pay close attention to context. There's been probably 10 occasions where drivers at the right angle would have thought I was being "one of those morons" when I was reacting to another driver who almost killed me because their phone was more interesting than moving the muscles required to check a blind spot.
[3] On four occasions since riding, I have found myself having to rapidly downshift, move to the left and ride the dashed line until I could get out from between two cars, one who didn't check their blind-spot before deciding to occupy the same point in space that I was comfortably enjoying. I would have been a sandwich in a car, but they'd probably have seen me, too.
> People often report feeling more attentive to the road while operating a manual transmission, as it requires them to more closely focus on the driving itself, but this isn’t something many people want while driving anymore.
This is something I very much want while driving; it's part of the reason I get around primarily by motorcycle. If driving is too easy, my attention wanders, and that's not really safe. A manual transmission gives me more engagement with the driving process and that helps keep my eyes on the road.
This will probably get some hate but stick shift is an anachronism to an era when it was needed due to lack of computerization. Some purists will say it's better for high performance vehicles, but when do you really need that manual shift that the automatic won't do? It's like saying more people are growing up not knowing how to use a rotary telephone - of course, it's no longer necessary, like manual shifting.
I find that driving a manual transmission makes me pay more attention to what I'm doing while driving, which is a good thing. Studies in the airline industry have shown that too much automation is a bad thing. Humans aren't good at transitioning from being outside of the control loop to being completely in control in an emergency situation. Higher levels of engagement are a good thing in some ways.
In the US that's fine but it's helpful to be able to drive a stick when you're traveling.
The times I rented/hired a campervan in New Zealand and in Iceland, they were manual transmission. I heard recently the ones in New Zealand are automatic nowadays. (That's good because I wasn't used to shifting with my left hand and was kinda freaked out for the first half hour or so of driving.)
A guy I knew had volunteered on Lesbos during the refugee crisis and can't drive a stick so he couldn't drive there. The availability of rental cars on islands can be pretty limited. A couple years ago I was on Madeira and apparently the only affordable rentals there are manual transmission subcompacts.
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[ 3.1 ms ] story [ 113 ms ] threadI've seen my uncle do it. He said you don't grip it with your hand, else you might break your arm should the motor jerk the crank away. Never did it myself.
Fewer people know how to use carbide lamps too.
It looked shockingly capable off-road though, which I guess makes sense if you think about what counted for a road in the 1910s.
Speaking of, there's a good book (although I admit I've barely started) called "American Road" by Pete Davies which draws a vivid picture of what roads were like and the politics involved in even deciding whether government should be involved in road building.
Its primary goal is describing a military motor train that crossed the country in 1919 (and may well have been a key opportunity that kept Eisenhower from leaving the military...history has some fascinating turning points).
I suspect that the number probably peaked in the last 20yr.
It was a cold morning, and wouldn't start.
The issue wasn't not knowing how to use a choke, but not knowing that it had a manual choke.
Arguably, the generator is an anachronism, but a comparably powered battery + solar cell would be $10,000’s, and the generator was << $1000.
Miata, Wrangler, Mustang, and a handful of others, but they’re the exception rather than the rule.
Most of those are performance oriented. Those that aren't will probably be all automatics.
You won't find them at dealers very often (they're not popular) but they are available for most of the budget lines provided by the manufacturers.
Feel free to look for yourself. They list it under "powertrain" in the specs pages.
> is different from “broadly available”,
FWIW, my definition boils down to: available from most manufacturers, in the major form factors (truck, SUV, sedan, compact, sport).
No Chevy, Dodge, GMC, Ford. That's just one huge gap.
Update: also, if you extend that to SUVs, one of the hottest markets, I think the only model you add is the Ford Bronco.
So there are no entry-level pickups or SUVs as manuals. For CUVs you could probably add Kia Soul and Mazda, but not much else.
Yet they do exist (and from most major manufacturers), and if you're not after the bells and whistles, they make for a reasonable investment.
I've driven manual transmission vehicles for most of my adult life, my last 4 cars have been automatic. My wife isn't willing to learn how to drive one.
The single thing I prefer about manual transmission vs automatic: direct throttle response If you tap the throttle, the vehicle responds to it. If you take your foot off the throttle, the engine braking starts and you slow down very effectively.
You become accustomed to the sounds and feel of your vehicle, and can tell when it's not running correctly.
The only place automatics are preferable is in stop & go traffic.
I've driven automatic transmissions all my life, but I've really enjoyed my CVT transmission because I can go into a seven-speed manual mode (that I mostly only use for engine braking).
As an aside, I do a bit of track time in an Automatic - it's like having a super power if you're a novice as there's very few people who really know how to shift properly. That being said, a Manual is so much more fun.
There are also some off-roading advantages, although in general it’s a mixed bag. You don’t want to shift while your clutch is underwater, for example, and from what I understand driving in sand is easier in an auto due the smoother shifts and corresponding lack of a loss in momentum.
Also, for extreme rock crawling, it’s helpful to have feet on both gas and brake, plus no burning up the clutch.
(I’m far from an expert, I don’t crawl rocks, and my primary Jeep is a stick, so this is primarily hearsay.)
A manual transmission lets YOU choose when to shift. That means you can keep the 1L engine that's pulling around your 5000lb barge up high near its peak power and get the performance you want. Contrast with an automatic transmission where you get the performance some engineer deems is an acceptable balance between what you want and what the company thinks is best for its fuel economy stats.
I think I’d have to place electrical tape over those indicators.
How dare the engineer decide what's best for the engine?
Literally every automatic has the ability to shift into first gear as needed. Hell, my automatic 4-banger Dodge Neon had first gear and that thing couldn't tow a tricycle.
They’re unpredictable, too eager to shift down even in torque-y engines, annoying going up hills where they’re too eager to shift up.
The only time I really appreciate an automatic is in a big diesel car. Manuals are painful in heavy diesels, especially in start stop traffic.
Vans in the UK (almost exclusively diesel thanks to the torque) tend to be quite long geared. If you aren't hauling much you can even often skip a gear and shift up quite eagerly. I don't find manual vans very tedious, but then again, I've never had an auto van! I'd say they either don't exist or are exceedingly rare in the van rental market in the UK (I can't imagine an auto tow truck existing either)
"Stick shift" isn't a phrase often heard here, because manual transmission is so much the default that "automatic" is the exception that needs a name.
My thinking was that it was one of those things where "a new rider would be less safe because there's more to manage but an old rider would be more safe because they have a greater degree of control." I learned, quickly, that an 800lb bike with a big engine requires a lot more careful control through a tight turn than the "mountain-bike with a weed whacker engine" on it that we trained on--especially when said operator is 150lbs soaking wet. And while older riders benefit more, new riders are incredibly unsafe* until they've sorted out the "friction zone", throttle/shifting/gear ratios of their particular bike -- when you understand how your bike reacts from/between each gear and find yourself deciding between a dangerous white-knuckle-hard-stop[1] or a rapid down-shift, throttle and controlled escape, you're almost always safer escaping first, stopping second[2]. Escaping might require a downshift depending on where you're at. Left hand, left foot, throttle, release all happen at once and you hold on. :)
Having that level of control also makes it feel like you're doing something more than having a device move you from point A to point B* which makes it more fun, for me. Unfortunately, when it comes to a car, I have 4 wheels and do not have to manage lateral momentum as much around a turn. Having the half-second decrease in downshift time will give me more power but at the expense of an enormous amount of fuel and rarely to my benefit[3]. And just about every other feature of the car, except for the entertainment pieces, is designed to make driving as mindless/simple as possible. The only benefit, especially compared against modern/higher-end automatic transmissions--for cars--seems to be "it's fun".
[0] And, I'd imagine, electric motorcycles won't have power transmissions systems that require shifting.
[1] I have an ABS bike; similarly hated feature, because the thing it tries to save you from: wheel lock and a trip over the handlebars/under the bike, it often just converts into a less controllable version of the same result at a longer stopping distance. And being the stopped/out of control vehicle in an orderly set of moving vehicles is not good for anyone.
[2] Next time you see some dude on a crotch rocket like a complete jack-ass, pay close attention to context. There's been probably 10 occasions where drivers at the right angle would have thought I was being "one of those morons" when I was reacting to another driver who almost killed me because their phone was more interesting than moving the muscles required to check a blind spot.
[3] On four occasions since riding, I have found myself having to rapidly downshift, move to the left and ride the dashed line until I could get out from between two cars, one who didn't check their blind-spot before deciding to occupy the same point in space that I was comfortably enjoying. I would have been a sandwich in a car, but they'd probably have seen me, too.
edit: formatting
This is something I very much want while driving; it's part of the reason I get around primarily by motorcycle. If driving is too easy, my attention wanders, and that's not really safe. A manual transmission gives me more engagement with the driving process and that helps keep my eyes on the road.
The times I rented/hired a campervan in New Zealand and in Iceland, they were manual transmission. I heard recently the ones in New Zealand are automatic nowadays. (That's good because I wasn't used to shifting with my left hand and was kinda freaked out for the first half hour or so of driving.)
A guy I knew had volunteered on Lesbos during the refugee crisis and can't drive a stick so he couldn't drive there. The availability of rental cars on islands can be pretty limited. A couple years ago I was on Madeira and apparently the only affordable rentals there are manual transmission subcompacts.