R.I.P manual trans

When I took behind-the-wheel driver's ed. in high school the driver's ed. cars were all straight shift. Three speed on the column in a new 1964 full-sized car. We got a discount on our insurance back then if we had taken the course.
 
When rebuilding my old truck for the grand kids, they voted for a floor shift. Not all is lost. I put in a 3 spd with OD
 
In Seattle a few weeks ago two punks tried to hijack a 70 year old woman's car, but it was a stick, and after a minute they gave up and ran away.
 
ford3 said:
I don't care if I ever drive a stick shift, I drove a heavy duty 13 speed truck for 35 years , so automatics are the way to go for me
Click to expand...

Couple that 13 sp. to a 318 Detroit & you would be def With Big left leg & right arm muscles. LOL / LOL
 
Not to be political, but the manual trans is a victim of the general engineering practice of relieving the operator of a vehicle of the responsibility of operating the vehicle. Neutral safety switch, clutch safety switch, and now accident avoidance braking; so you can text while driving.:confused:
 
joel said:
Not to be political, but the manual trans is a victim of the general engineering practice of relieving the operator of a vehicle of the responsibility of operating the vehicle. Neutral safety switch, clutch safety switch, and now accident avoidance braking; so you can text while driving.:confused:
Click to expand...

I very highly doubt the loss of the manual transmission is because of the "general engineering practice of relieving the operator of a vehicle of the responsibility of operating the vehicle." It's economics plain and simple. The majority of people do not want to purchase a manual transmission car, for whatever reason. When people don't want something, they won't purchase the option. When the option isn't purchased, it's not a justifiable expense to maintain in the eyes of the "bean counters".

I do not see these safety-related items as bad things. Same goes for turn signals, tail lights on both the left and right, seat belts, dual circuit brake systems, ABS, air bags, collapsible steering columns, crush zones, blind spot detection, etc. If it improves safety, it should be put on the cars the general public is going to be driving.

People have been crappy drivers since the day the first car was invented. It didn't start after such items were added to cars and then became mandatory. These sorts of things cost companies money to add; they wouldn't be added if they didn't improve vehicle safety.
 
My nephew a few months ago borrowed a pickup from his mate to haul some stuff
it was raining and he crashed straight through the 1st red light intersection he came to hit other cars when asked what happened he said it just skidded for no reason no matter how hard he pushed the brake pedal
he had never before driven without ABS or a computer to help him
the policeman said they see this a lot
he also has never driven a manual trans
 
Last edited:
joel said:
Not to be political, but the manual trans is a victim of the general engineering practice of relieving the operator of a vehicle of the responsibility of operating the vehicle. Neutral safety switch, clutch safety switch, and now accident avoidance braking; so you can text while driving.:confused:
Click to expand...

American manufacturers have always tried to make driving simpler, this isn't new. The idea is to get more people to drive so more cars are sold.

Self-dimming headlights, cruise control, automatic transmissions, etc. were around in the '50s.

You could also say that we have traffic lights to relieve people of the responsibility of stopping and looking at intersections.
 
I don't care what anybody says............I still like the manual. I have a 2004 .750 ton truck with a manual that I bought new......sad to think that it will be the last pickup that I buy new with 3 things to step on under the dash..... hell .....I still like the dimmer switch on the floor.
 
When I bought my new 2012 F150 the only way I could get a manual trans was if I ordered a diesel. ( I'm learning to love the 6 spd auto and 24mpg). All my other cars have a stick.
 
Both of my kids learned to drive standard transmission.
My daughter in my 67 XR 7 Cougar, my son in a CJ3 jeep.
Both are proud of the knowledge and experience that has served them well.
Bruce
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top