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Shifter For Automatic looks unnecessary? and gets in the way....

Automatic Console Shifter Design Going Forward


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griffbl

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Is it just me, or does the Shifter look goofy now? I mean I thought it was electronically activated with sensors, (but it has been pointed out to me by another forum member that it is indeed connected with linkage, much to my surprise!) .....Modern cars seem to have done away with the unsightly projection with a simple electronically operated knob, etc., that does not project into the interior. A common, modern enhancement similar to say, seeing a "Start" button vs. actually turning a key... Given we have paddle shifters on the wheel, to use when we wish to row through the gears, so who needs this shifter projecting from the console into the interior any more? I just think that now, it looks better without one at all! What does everyone else think? Thanks!
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Stam616

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Is it just me, or does the Shifter look goofy now? I mean, it is electronic only, correct? i.e. no linkage of course.....Modern cars seem to have done away with the unsightly projection with a simple knob, etc., that does not project into the interior. Given we have paddle shifters on the wheel, who needs this thing any more? I just think that now, it looks better without one at all! What does everyone else think? Thanks!
I like the shifter where it is. I use the paddle shifters at times but like the stick where it is.
 

stang1971

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Is it just me, or does the Shifter look goofy now? I mean, it is electronic only, correct? i.e. no linkage of course.....Modern cars seem to have done away with the unsightly projection with a simple knob, etc., that does not project into the interior. Given we have paddle shifters on the wheel, who needs this thing any more? I just think that now, it looks better without one at all! What does everyone else think? Thanks!
Have you not looked? there is a linkage.
 
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griffbl

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Have you not looked? there is a linkage.
I did NOT know that....I was incorrect, and changed the original post. Thank you. I still think it would be better without the large shifter, and engaged electronically like many new cars today....especially when you have paddle shifters.....so the question remains, "do you like it the way it is, or a more modern look as I describe?" thanks!
 

Mr. G

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I like the shifter where it is. I use the paddle shifters at times but like the stick where it is.
I agree. I like the shifter and if I had a choice I would opt for an auto stick type shifter and eliminate the paddles. Maybe I'm just old school but having had both sticks and autos I like having a shifter.
 

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TheReaper

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My wife's Lincoln has buttons and paddles which I prefer.
 

ahl395

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I like the way it looks now. Better than the ugly knob like some Chrysler's use that people accidentally turn thinking its the volume knob and causing an accident lol.
 

Bravo

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Of all the "future" tech being implemented in cars, I'm going to have a really hard time moving to a dial or dash buttons (Dear Lincoln, please stop).

One thing that I really like about the shifter is the ability to bump it up and down when in a "manual" driving mode. Try grabbing the proper paddle to upshift while your wheel is turned...it's not easy.

With that said - I don't believe the Mustang automatic gear lever has a bump out mode to allow shifting with the level...someone please correct me if I'm wrong.
 

Timeless

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For most it would probably be blasphemy to change the shifter. :)

However, as this car is now more global and competing with more upscale models, it should probably have a different look.

Possibly only in the premium models.
 

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Mr. G

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Of all the "future" tech being implemented in cars, I'm going to have a really hard time moving to a dial or dash buttons (Dear Lincoln, please stop).

One thing that I really like about the shifter is the ability to bump it up and down when in a "manual" driving mode. Try grabbing the proper paddle to upshift while your wheel is turned...it's not easy.

With that said - I don't believe the Mustang automatic gear lever has a bump out mode to allow shifting with the level...someone please correct me if I'm wrong.
you are correct. the shifter does NOT have the ability to bump gears, only can be done by the paddles. Shifter can change from D to S, but still need paddles to shift manually.
 

lsiunsuex

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Last night we were talking about trading in the wife's SUV lease for something like a TLX lease with AWD.

Went to acura.com to see what it looked like / base price / colors, etc... then I saw the buttons in place of the shifter. I think it would just screw her up even more. She's not a dumb women by any means, but I feel as a new driver (she's only driven for 4 years now) buttons instead of something physical to move might screw her up. Could she get used to it? Probably. But why risk an accident over something so stupid. That, and I feel in snowy states (NY) you really need at least 1 SUV in the family, even if the car has AWD. A car with AWD doesn't buy ground clarance and when towns don't plow because it's coming down to fast, ground clarance makes all the difference.

That aside - (automatic driver here) I feel a shifter is a part of what makes a car a car. I almost never drive in D and always put it into sport + / S / and paddle shift. It's a part of the feel of driving, even if on automatics, it's not used much.

Let's not forget the poor kid / star trek actor that died last year ? Thought he was in park in a jeep, got out to get the mail and was run over by the car because he pushed the wrong button. A total fluke accident for sure, but still a problem IMO.

I fear what driving will be like in another decade or so. More and more countries (not the USA obviously) are exclaiming no more gas engines by 20xx. France was the last one I think I saw to declare a date. The sound, the modification (even minor), shifting, the feel of changing gears
are apart of car culture. Take a gas engine away and we'll all need to be electrical engineers to work on them, lol... Sure, you'll still be able to stiffen suspension, change rims, air bag it, etc... but the engine is one of the things "most" people want to play with.

Hell - I'm thinking I might keep the Mustang indefinitely. If not this one, the next one. At the pace electric cars are being developed and self driving cars, another couple generations and that might be the last chance to get something new / fancy. For sure, after market will be around long after electric has taken hold and there is always buying used / fixing up old ones but it is coming. It's a matter of time.

</rant>
 

MaskedRacerX

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Since the car has the option for a manual, the space where the shifter goes has been designed to _have_ a shifter. Even if it's an automatic, you still need some kind of shifting mechanism, so use the same space, the same style (i.e., a shaft with a knob on top ... *snicker* ...)

I suspect as manuals go away (ugh), and cars are only available as automatics, we'll see less and less of that design hold over, that space allocated to other things like wireless charging areas for devices, and any kind of shifter looking device will disappear too.
 

c-rizzle

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Only need to keep it, IF there's a mode like in some cars where you push the shifter to the side and you can bump it up & down for manual shifting of gears. (like a sequential shifter)
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