Manual Trans are Disappearing !

[GiveMeAVowel]

Originally Posted By: Brad_C
Thankfully this is an American disease.

The rest of the world still gets manuals and it's not seen as a special talent to be able to "drive a stick".




It seems to be, is it a result of consumers in the US being, lazy,
gullible suckers at the mercy of marketers, dull, or a combination of all of these things...I'm a US citizen so I can make that observation without others blasting me.

 

[Andy636]

Not a lot of things that can go wrong with a MT and unless you are borderline retarded the most you can do is fry the clutch, not a big deal since the kits are quite cheap and any grease monkey can replace it.

AT on the other hand...if the SHTF...you can bend over and throw your wallet onto the table.

 

[Leo99]

My local Honda dealer had a 2014 leftover Accord. Just one. It was a loaded EX-L coupe with the V6. Can you guess what kind of transmission it had?

Social media and forums like this are all abuzz about manual trannys so sometimes the manufacturers listen and make them. They don't sell. They are not disappearing because the manufacturers don't want to offer them in the US; Americans don't like them.

I wanted a manual when I rented a car in Germany but the car rental guy "upgraded" me to an automatic.

I can understand people eschewing manuals on family sedans or SUVs, but on a BMW or Audi? I don't get it.

 

[emg]

Originally Posted By: GiveMeAVowel
It seems to be, is it a result of consumers in the US being, lazy,
gullible suckers at the mercy of marketers, dull, or a combination of all of these things..


And because CAFE targets are harder to meet with a manual transmission.

Besides, self-flagellation doesn't really buy you a ticket to heaven. There's a reason most of the mid-range luxury cars came with auto transmissions when I lived in Europe, and most of the high-end luxury cars came with chauffeurs.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: Brad_C
Thankfully this is an American disease. The rest of the world still gets manuals and it's not seen as a special talent to be able to "drive a stick".

Heck, over here the auto is still sometimes advertised as an "upgrade" and is more expensive.



Exactly. This is a combination of laziness, stupidity, and the ability for the financiers to collect interest on another $1000 (whether an option or included in a higher base price) financed in the vehicle price.

There's nothing much to driving a manual,miss really a matter of choice. I am confident that on a well geared mt, I can drive more efficiently and under better control. I drive in a lot of traffic, and the convenience factor of an at is moot, IMO.

 

[WiskyBadger]

Hasnt been a option on Chevy trucks for some time

 

[Robenstein]

only stick I will drive is a vintage car with one where switching it out would hurt the value.

Love a manual on a bike, hate them in a car.

 

[Chris142]

I refuse to own an at.her Tahoe don't count as she bought it before we started dating.when its 4l60 fails it will get a clutch pedal

 

[TFB1]

Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
Many automotive manufactures don't have manual transmission available for most models, some even don't have any manual transmission at all. Only few manufactures have manual transmission for some models, Honda is one of those few and only with some Accord and Civic trim levels.

The reason is manual sold less than 5% of total vehicles in 2014, cost of certify manual car is high and volume is so low, such that car manufactures just drop it.

https://www.yahoo.com/autos/question-of-the-day-why-do-people-buy-manual-124248577082.html


For the most part manual transmission popularity began declining around 1950/1951 when automatic trans started being installed in the low priced three(Chevy, Ford, Plymouth)... Read somewhere that by 1950 only 2% of Cadillac vehicles had a manual and most of those were incomplete units to be modified into ambulances or other service vehicles...

Sure there was some resurgence in certain times like the '60 when the muscle car ERA came to be and again in the '80s when 5.0 Stangs were all the rage, but sooner or later they'll be like dodo birds..

 

[Nate1979]

Good riddance.

 

[montero1]

Would never have gotten my Cooper in an Automatic.

I seriously hope Jeep doesn't try to get rid of manuals in Wranglers. That would be a mistake.

 

[ag_ghost]

Yes, yet another sign of the apocalypse ...

Friend of mine made me an offer I could not refuse on a rebuilt C4 with a manual valvebody for my Mustang. It's better than a "regular" automatic, but I still regret not going for a toploader or T5. I'm thankful my Dad ordered a 4 speed that's in the big Ford in my sig at least.
Kevin

 

[hansj3]

Same here. Of the 27 carad, 3 have had that terrible slush box. But I'm an odd duck, and entirely dissociated from my generation. [censored] my cousin is turning 20, doesn't have His license (has his permit) has his own trailblazer and has zero interest in getting his liceance. And he isn't alone I know of or know several kids like that.
Those kids even if pushed to get it, would rather take the bus than learn stick.

Wah I can't move a lever around all the time wah

And that leaves me with sports cars, euro cars, or bottom barrel [censored] econoboxes, all of which have to be ordered in
And lord help me if I want a used car....

 

[Xeno]

Originally Posted By: horse123
Good. Screw them. Automatic transmissions are much faster and more useful.

 

[Robenstein]

You do get the torque multiplication with an auto.

 

[Dyusik]

So many thieves deterred by manual transmission. And I've left my wife confined to the house by leavng rhe car with mt lol. She still won't learn. Manual transmission for me. I like simple and reliable. In America people don't care as long as it's effortless. Lazy people every where I look.

 

[bbhero]

Well stated man. Lazy. Slackers

I learned how to drive on a stick shift. Ford Probe, Mercury Tracer, and Ford Ranger. The Ranger was the hardest due to very touchy clutch.
But seriously I just thought about the decline in manual transmissions tonight. I bet 30 to 40% of the cars and trucks on the road when I started driving were stick shuft. In the early 90s. 5% now doesn't surprise me a bit.
Slackers. Easier to get distracted when driving a automatic.

 

[Andrew1972]

A very popular car around my part is the TDI Jetta Wagen and now Golf SportWagen. The dealer lots and peeking in I see more then 50% appear to be manual transmission.

I think its vehicle specific what sells. Another example is Subaru WRX which manual far outsells the shiftless versions.

 

[Pop_Rivit]

Here we go-another manual transmission thread where all of the manual transmission chest-thumpers come out in droves, as if driving a manual requires any sort of special skill or advanced knowledge. It really doesn't-even my 60-something wife drove our manual Subaru until we sold it last winter.

Driving a modern, dumbed down manual transmission is no more difficult than driving an automatic-it is just a slightly different skill. Yet I'm willing to bet that the majority of those touting their superior driving skills with a manual wouldn't have the first idea of how to drive a real manual, something not synchronized and with twin sticks perhaps. Or something non-synchronised with 13 or 18 gears, or even a little 5 & 2.

 

[A_Harman]

Originally Posted By: SumpChump
Automatics are soooo much better!

I can text and drive, eat and drive, do extreme sports and break a leg.... And drive.

Well, technically I could do any of that WITH a manual also... Using my third leg. But this isn't about me.

Toyota was so thoughtful that they even took out the icky dipstick and now I can keep a fluid in there that looses it's additive pack by 30k for 100k. And if I want to do a fluid change and level.... All I need is a laptop and proprietary software and a lift and two crush gaskets and about a half hour ... Just to check the level.

Lifetime sealed automatics forever! Awesome.


I think I'm detecting a little bit of sarcasm here.