Just saw they sold more Teslas last year then manual cars in the US

[IMadeYouReadThis]

Yabba dabba doo, buddy!

Also, I'm 32 chiefy

Yeah I'm thinking you're a guy that just couldn't drive a manual transmission equipped car to save his life

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[torqueaddict]

IMO, manuals are dying mainly because the skill isn't passed down to the younger drivers and it's not taught in driving school like in other countries. And parents today don't drive them, so why would their kids care? With a cycle like that, only enthusiasts are left and they're not enough around to keep the market afloat. My parents drove manuals and while I was too young to learn at the time, it stuck with me still I got my first and drove them for 13 years.

 

[Briebee72]

I lost track of this thread I looked at it last was 1 page LOL.

All the what is better and whats worse whats faster and whats slowest aside it comes down to money. With manuals only accounting for 1.5 to 2 % of all car sales in the US the individual numbers are even less per manufacturer and even less per model. It comes a point a manufacturer drops the tech cause its eating up 20k feet of manufacturing space that could be bring in 40 times that per sq foot of revenue. And it also even though is old tech starts to cost more cause they also have to start paying higher prices to suppliers cause of the same reasons. They are loosing money taking up manufacturing space for items only selling at 1 % so they jack up prices and what was once the cheapest transmission soon becomes an expensive option and not worth the floor space. Hence it disappears. Not to mention eventually suppliers will drop making parts as well cause its simply not worth it. Most manufactures of consumer products drop items once they fall below 10% we are lucky manuals have lasted this long to be honest.

 

[65ffr]

Maybe this thread will turn into the 'manual transmission' thread on the C8 forum...over 8k posts and 600k views so far and climbing....

 

[Rapid Red]

IMO, manuals are dying mainly because the skill isn't passed down to the younger drivers and it's not taught in driving school like in other countries. And parents today don't drive them, so why would their kids care? With a cycle like that, only enthusiasts are left and they're not enough around to keep the market afloat. My parents drove manuals and while I was too young to learn at the time, it stuck with me still I got my first and drove them for 13 years.

Hell yes, most cannot change a flat tire today.. Pathetic and barely having the coordination to put fuel in a car.

Standard transmissions are a dying breed, as a side note NASCAR still has em.
So all is not lost for now.

 

[shogun32]

as a side note NASCAR still has em.
So all is not lost for now.

heh, tell that to the 18yr old girl racer who just received her first street car (GT350R) who supposedly has some kind of NASCAR ride (feeder series?) from a family of motorsports racers who didn't understand that you park a car with the trans in 1st. Or how to use a clutch pedal. It was posted here by way of YT recently.

 

[Ebm]

Honestly, the U.S. needs more manual cars for the sheer fact that everyone gets distracted driving an automatic. People think it's okay to read a novel, text, or paint your nails while driving because they have a free hand. Ridiculous. Self driving cars will be a blessing to get some of these idiots off of the road and in the passenger seat.

 

[Bikeman315]

heh, tell that to the 18yr old girl racer who just received her first street car (GT350R) who supposedly has some kind of NASCAR ride (feeder series?) from a family of motorsports racers who didn't understand that you park a car with the trans in 1st. Or how to use a clutch pedal. It was posted here by way of YT recently.

Really Matt, you need to pick on a nineteen year old? That girl racer, Hallie Deegan, had never driven a street car with a stick. So she wasn’t perfect first time out. BFD! And by the way, do not know if you’ve ever driven a NASCAR stocker but the clutch is nothing like a street car.

https://performance.ford.com/series...es/stock-car-racing/2020/6/deegan-worlds.html

 

[Jmtoast]

Yeah I don't miss it. Coming from 34 years of driving Chevy, Pontiac, Plymouth, Dodge, and even old school VW bug manuals (family restored them) I wasn't a fan of the MT-82. I did love the 12" GT500 manual I test drove. If it would have had more power I would have bought it.

 

[shogun32]

That girl racer, Hallie Deegan, had never driven a street car with a stick.

I was not criticizing her inability to feather the clutch properly. Rather her abject SURPRISE that the car was in gear while parked and her utter ignorance that she needed to depress a clutch pedal on startup. She (or family) races buggies and motorcycles so clutch use on engine crank over should have been long since ingrained into her neural pathways. I was pointing out that for someone so steeped in motorsports to not know the basics of 3-pedal use was astounding and refuting the notion that the existance of NASCAR would translate into the manual transmission continuing to have impact on gen-pop adoption.

In point of fact I am surprised NASCAR hasn't already gone to DCT and paddle shifters.

 

[Deleted member 35786]

Standard transmissions are a dying breed, as a side note NASCAR still has em.
So all is not lost for now.

NASCAR is still stuck in the 60's. They are incredibly slow to change and evolve into the 21st century. Just about every race car series out there has gone to automatics or sequential gearbox's. Its just a matter of time before the pressure from race car manufactures, companies, sponsors etc.. will force them to convert. Especially when the costs come down and are comparable if not cheaper.

 

[Balr14]

There is no logical reason for the manual transmission to exist any more. It is offered solely to satisfy the esoteric needs (feel, engagement, nostalgia, etc.) of some drivers. There is nothing a modern automatic transmission can't do better and do it without mistakes. I heard these type of arguments when manufacturers started moving the shift lever from the column back to the floor in the late 50s; it belongs on the column, it takes up space on the floor, it hits the seat, why go back to the way things were in the 30s, etc. etc. Just drive the damn car!

 

[Fly2High]

How many of us really learn to drive the cars we have to the limits they are capable or do we just keep the car out of the realm we cannot control by limiting the gas? I think we are entering a territory where all we have is bragging rights from statisticians that my car is faster, quicker, handles better than yours when most of us can not use the majority of what the car they have can do. I am not talking about stepping on the gas and going in a straight line. Our cars can do far more than that. IF all you care about is stoplight racing you should probably turn in your man card and find another car. You are so far from using what the car can do. Besides, with all the 'Big Brother' cameras around, you will soon be overwhelmed with tickets anyway. I am so tired of A10 drivers talk of how much faster their car is as if that is all the car is about. Sure, there are times a manual and A10 swap places with the A10 more often beating the manual. So What!! What else have you done with your car?

Here are some things both our cars do:

1. Gives us pride in the car we drive
2. Gives us enjoyment of the drive, not just the car. This is largely being lost with SUV. Cars are more than about getting from point A to B. I think we all believe the drive is more important than the destination.
3. Is faster than we need and makes our heart palpitate when we step on the gas
4. Kept the Mustang model around another year longer - yes, even manual drivers are helping to keep the Mustang around. Stop selling a manual, and that could change. It would suck if the Mustang followed the Camaro to the boneyard due to reduced sales.
5. Protects our families
6. Takes us to work - mine is my daily driver so I get to enjoy her every day. not just weekends. Not all cars do that. Several are garage queens or special occasion cars.
7. Gives us a reason to keep it clean
8. Is a topic of conversation in forums and when driving around. I love the impromptu chats people have had with me about my PP2. I have really met some interesting people and would love to keep those friendships alive.
9. I can go from a stiff performance ride to a more compliant one while just cruising with the family. It is a multi-tasker.

Who cares why you drive a Mustang or other performance car. For many of us, it is the availability of a manual drive for all their benefits and flaws. For others it is what an automatic can give them.

As long as we both keep buying the kinds of cars we love, at least they will be available for sale.

When I saw that the Accord will stop offering a manual and the Civic coupe are gone, that was a blow to me. Not just because of the lack of manuals but also those cars are often the drivers that eventually buy a Mustang or some other performance car. We are quickly becoming a society that will lack in car variety. Look at 10 - 20 years ago how many options there were.

Soon the Mustang will die because two door cars are not popular. Look at how few there already are.

Let's keep bringing up topics that have us arguing among ourselves - rather like minded people. It won't take long before we will no longer have something to argue about. Ask the Camaro guys.

Instead of posting that the manual should die, A10 guys should ask how to keep it alive so their cars will remain alive as well. Does it matter how we drive a Mustang as long as we all have the options we desire.

In the end, speed isn't what matters.....

Options are.

 

[tom_sprecher]

I look forward to getting the smaller Bronco that is being offered with a 7 speed stick just to piss off the auto diehards. That and driving an auto is boring.

 

[Bikeman315]

I was not criticizing her inability to feather the clutch properly. Rather her abject SURPRISE that the car was in gear while parked and her utter ignorance that she needed to depress a clutch pedal on startup. She (or family) races buggies and motorcycles so clutch use on engine crank over should have been long since ingrained into her neural pathways. I was pointing out that for someone so steeped in motorsports to not know the basics of 3-pedal use was astounding and refuting the notion that the existance of NASCAR would translate into the manual transmission continuing to have impact on gen-pop adoption.

In point of fact I am surprised NASCAR hasn't already gone to DCT and paddle shifters.

I hear you Matt. But I've learned just because somebody is a racer doesn't mean they know how to handle a street car. Especially an 18 YO. Regardless she is an up and comer. I expect to see her in Cup cars within the next few years.

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