Please...Save the Manuals!
08-10-2010, 03:45 PM
#7
Want fries with that?
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Most people don't drive manuals because the new generation doesn't really know about them. To them, Manuals are just that funky, weird, taboo subject with an extra pedal coming out of the firewall. I'm serious when I say that some people have actually asked me why I'm moving the gearstick around and not just keeping it in drive.
Sure, the people who have said that to me might not be the most car-savvy people, but... Damn. I rank people who don't know what manuals are up there with people who buy a car solely for the way it looks. My girlfriend even thinks that Jeeps are a type of car, not a brand. She commonly refers to her RX330 as a "Jeep". The other one, a RX400h is the "hybrid" and the sedan is the "non-Jeep". It used to **** me off to no end, but I realized it's not really her, it's just the world out there.
A couple people I've driven around in my Miata ask if I like driving my A6 more than my Miata because it's an automatic (The A6 that is, my Miata is a hairy-chested man's car) and I actually laughed out loud. It made me realize though that most people view it as a chore. When they asked why I purposely got my Miata in manual I say because they're more fun. Most just say "But it's more work". I ask why they say that and most say something like "Cars are just for getting from A to B".
Take a look at some of the people who buy **** like Maseratis and Ferraris in automatic - 99% of them don't want a manual because it's "weird" and "obsolete". It's just society today, people want to either pose or an appliance to get them places. There aren't many car guys left anymore to make manuals a serious part of society. The times, they are a' changin'.
But there's no need to worry. There will always be enough demand for manuals to keep them alive. REAL car manufacturers will always offer a manual option. They're cheaper to make, so why the hell not? If all car firms stop offering manuals as an option, then there will be one smart car firm who will offer a good car with a manual and everyone will rush to buy that.
There will always be manuals on offer, the only question is where is the balance.
Holy **** I wrote a book.
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08-10-2010, 03:59 PM
#8
Tour de Franzia
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I swore off modern cars a few years ago. The African Lord thy God Mulungu wrote it in stone when I bought my first Miata, and passed the tablet down to Earth by traveling the web spun by the divine arachnid enabeler which set fire to the lad beneath when denied by humanity.
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08-10-2010, 04:31 PM
#9
rider: Apparently some Ferrari's now dont even come with an option of manual. I met a guy who just got the new 458 and he said it was only available in automatic. Kind of sucks but it's faster than you can ever be with a manual gearshift. Personally I prefer manual. My jetta was manual and my bmw and miata are both manual. The only time I've ever reconsidered getting the bmw in manual is when I'm sitting in absurd traffic when I'm commuting to work.
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08-10-2010, 05:44 PM
#10
Cpt. Slow
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Oh most luxury and performance vehicles don't come with a proper manual option. Ferrari's have sadly been that way for years now, along with a lot of Mercedes, BMWs, and Audis I think. They all still have some option though I think.
Problem is technology is to the point where today's automatics are stronger and shift faster than a manual, while still getting better gas mileage; three things they never used to be able to do.
Problem is technology is to the point where today's automatics are stronger and shift faster than a manual, while still getting better gas mileage; three things they never used to be able to do.
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08-11-2010, 09:54 PM
#12
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I've made my wife learn to drive a manual because I view it as a necessary life skill. She doesn't like too, but can. I will also teach all my kids to drive a manual so that they might have prowess and dominion over all that is mechanical.
It is true though, they're dying out. But the upside is for those of us that enjoy it, the manuals will just be cheaper as used cars because nobody will want them/know how to drive them
It is true though, they're dying out. But the upside is for those of us that enjoy it, the manuals will just be cheaper as used cars because nobody will want them/know how to drive them
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08-12-2010, 08:07 AM
#13
My girlfriend even thinks that Jeeps are a type of car, not a brand. She commonly refers to her RX330 as a "Jeep". The other one, a RX400h is the "hybrid" and the sedan is the "non-Jeep". It used to **** me off to no end, but I realized it's not really her, it's just the world out there.
Sorry, jk, your girl may be cool, but that's how mad this crap makes me. It not only matters to me on the car guy level...but on a general safety level. How we let people pilot two ton weapons down the road without the slightest understanding of the physics involved or or the type of machinery they are operating boggles my mind.
I've worked construction...and the amount of licensing, training, safety precautions and junk you take just to run a skid steer or piggy back lift, let alone real machinery is extensive, and important. And these are operated in a CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT around folks that know what the **** a back up beeper means. These vehicles are also loud, have flashing lights and sirens, crawl and lumber around, and are generally yellow.
Yet the idiots in control of the 80mph asphalt gray hummer passing 8" from your rear driver's corner as they change lanes in a $63K vehicle that apparently didn't come with the blinker option...while texting...couldn't tell you if it's front wheel or rear wheel drive, give you even a ballpark on it's mass or 70-0 stopping distance, much less tell you the difference between and auto and standard in regards to driveline function.
you gee eich
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08-12-2010, 08:35 AM
#14
I had to order my truck to get manual (2 month wait). The guy writing it up *automatically* priced it out with air and auto before asking what options I wanted.
A truck is boring enough (unless in on terrain where you need it's ground clearance and big tires), why make it worse? Honestly you have more control when towing and my can go through 2' of snow covering black ice in my 2wd up pretty steep incline, with or without snow tires. The fwd vans etc can't go up said hills in those conditions, without better drivers.
I too told my lil bro and wife they had to learn manual, both were terrified of the idea. My lil bro bought a 5sp Protege after learning and won't go back and my wife is competent at driving my truck, with the occasional burnout if she gets nervous. The wife is still intimidated by the Miata as is my brother.
A truck is boring enough (unless in on terrain where you need it's ground clearance and big tires), why make it worse? Honestly you have more control when towing and my can go through 2' of snow covering black ice in my 2wd up pretty steep incline, with or without snow tires. The fwd vans etc can't go up said hills in those conditions, without better drivers.
I too told my lil bro and wife they had to learn manual, both were terrified of the idea. My lil bro bought a 5sp Protege after learning and won't go back and my wife is competent at driving my truck, with the occasional burnout if she gets nervous. The wife is still intimidated by the Miata as is my brother.
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08-12-2010, 09:42 AM
#15
Both my GF and I hate automatics.
It's a lazy American thing. In Europe is different..hell, you can even RENT cars that are manual. My GF rented a damn Fiat 500 Abarth last thime she was there...in 5spd flavor. Lazy fatass Americans..that's who to blame. Oddly enough, I was raised in a household where both of my parents drive manual transmissions and at one point 3 out of 4 cars in our driveway were manual.
It's a lazy American thing. In Europe is different..hell, you can even RENT cars that are manual. My GF rented a damn Fiat 500 Abarth last thime she was there...in 5spd flavor. Lazy fatass Americans..that's who to blame. Oddly enough, I was raised in a household where both of my parents drive manual transmissions and at one point 3 out of 4 cars in our driveway were manual.
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08-12-2010, 09:53 AM
#16
Both my GF and I hate automatics.
It's a lazy American thing. In Europe is different..hell, you can even RENT cars that are manual. My GF rented a damn Fiat 500 Abarth last thime she was there...in 5spd flavor. Lazy fatass Americans..that's who to blame. Oddly enough, I was raised in a household where both of my parents drive manual transmissions and at one point 3 out of 4 cars in our driveway were manual.
It's a lazy American thing. In Europe is different..hell, you can even RENT cars that are manual. My GF rented a damn Fiat 500 Abarth last thime she was there...in 5spd flavor. Lazy fatass Americans..that's who to blame. Oddly enough, I was raised in a household where both of my parents drive manual transmissions and at one point 3 out of 4 cars in our driveway were manual.
3 cars in my driveway, all manual transmissions.
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08-12-2010, 01:26 PM
#20
Very first car was an automatic but was my mom's car. My dad taught me how to drive a manual and we picked up my first manual car that day. I've driven manual ever since then and will never go back.
I agree with Doppelgänger, it's a lazy American thing. They want their car to be their extended house with plush seats, ice cold AC, LCD screens, 20 cup holders, phone integration, yadda yadda blah blah. The last thing they want to do is take attention away from their precious phone to drive their car.
I agree with Doppelgänger, it's a lazy American thing. They want their car to be their extended house with plush seats, ice cold AC, LCD screens, 20 cup holders, phone integration, yadda yadda blah blah. The last thing they want to do is take attention away from their precious phone to drive their car.
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