Are We There Yet?

When a stick was also an automatic.
Chrysler cars in the 1950s relied on Fluid Drive. This wasn't a fully automatic transmission; it utilized a fluid coupling paired with a semi-automatic transmission (often called Gyromatic or Tip-Toe Shift). You operated a clutch to put the car into a gear range (High or Low), but after that, you could drive indefinitely without shifting manually.


Mercedes used a solenoid and electronics with a regular clutch for the Smart car. This thing reminded me of driving an old 36 hp VW.


Automated Manual (2008–2015): The second-generation Smart Fortwo (451 model) features a 5-speed automated manual transmission (MTA). It lacks a clutch pedal, relying instead on an electronically controlled clutch actuator to engage and disengage the clutch.
 
Lenco transmission.


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Had. 1915 touring car. It was black. At a show one time an "expert" pointed out to his friend that the spokes were really metal make to look like wood. Shortly after that I rebuilt the wheels and varnished the wood spokes. I always liked varnished wood anyway.
 
A customer brought over a 1916 touring for me to paint. I told him that I had never driven a T before. He said its real easy; I will show you. Well, he gave me a 15-second tutorial and said I told you it was easy. Well, after he left, I had to bring the T into the garage. OMG, I came within 3 inches of driving through the back wall. It's a good thing that car had good brakes.

For those of you who have not driven a T, let me tell you it separates the men from the boys as far as driving a T vs an A.

I would love to see a carjacker try to steal a T, go ahead, I dare you!
 
When learning how to drive a Model T, you have UN-learn almost everything you know about driving a REAL car! Besides shifting with your feet, using the spark lever a LOT more than in a Model A and using the hand throttle on the quadrant to accelerate, you have to disabuse yourself of the natural tendency to push down the clutch pedal to reach what is usually neutral when stopping. If you use the clutch pedal like in a normal stick-shifted transmission, you downshift into low gear and away you go! Neutral is halfway down between high and low gear. Ya' gott'a learn where that middle sweet spot is or else you're going drive through the back of the garage someday. I think re-learning the clutch pedal use in a quick stop situation was the hardest part to master when teaching myself how to drive a Model T. It is not a direct transfer of driving skills from a Model A. Model A's and T's may be cousins, but only distant cousins. Definitely not kissing cousins.
Marshall
 
When asked about the three pedals on a T the standard answer was always,they're easy to drive,anyone with three legs can do it.That would always get you some strange looks.
 
It is very easy to learn to drive a Model T if the only vehicle you have ever driven is a horse & buggy!
I was a model T driver for a historical tour company and had to teach the other drivers how to drive Model T's, out of six people (one lady), only one could not grasp the technique, the lady did fine.
 
I don’t think we’ll lose the art of driving cars with Manual shift transmission anytime soon. Honda is still using manual shift transmissions exclusively in the Civic Si and Mazda make the MX-5 with a manual. BMW also offers manual transmissions in some of their sports sedans and coupes.

Of course, there are a lot of muscle cars being restored with manual shift transmissions.

David Serrano
 
All of this becomes irrelevant when you understand that in the not too far future, cars will be electric. In fact, Chinese electric cars are already severely cutting into the sales of "fossil" cars and they don't have gear boxes at all. Hetre, over the last year, sales of electric vehicles here has more than tripled as a proportion of all cars sold./ (7% to nearly 25%) and American brands are alomost unknown.
 
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