Car guy checking in. I think Teslas are cool and all, but trains are the future. I want trains to be so good that people would rather take them so that people like me, who care a lot about driving, get to drive. And people who would rather read a book or play a game while commuting aren’t forced to drive when they clearly don’t want to.
I have a 1997 Prelude Type SH manual. And I’m looking to replace my 2012 auto Civic with an 8th Gen Accord LX manual because I really missed driving stick daily and want a cheap manual I can daily.
100% this. I’m passionately on the other end of the spectrum, where a car’s entire purpose is to get me from A to B without fanfare, prestige, or hassle. Also needs the birds eye camera because fuck parallel parking. Trains are a better way to do all that. And we should be moving more good with trains. Trucks are expensive and should be last mile exclusively.
The problem for most people is that trains, and other public transport, don’t take you from doorstep to doorstep. God help us all if we have to walk 1/4 mile to a stop. There is also politics preventing it, at least in America.
You can ev swap ice cars and keep the manual transmission. It’s actually the easiest way to swap to electric. I’ve always wanted to try it but it’s pretty pricey
If we’re talking about extracting the maximum amount of power or efficiency from a car, manual transmissions stopped working like that a while ago when they got computers shifting better than humans could. Aren’t modern Porche ICE manual transmission cars slower and less efficient than the automatic transmissions?
We are talking feel of driving. Fans drive manuals because of the mechanics of it, not because it’s a knob that goes in five directions. Automatics scale the power directly, you press a little, the car goes slow. You press a lot, it gains power immediately. ICEs don’t work that way.
We are talking feel of driving. Fans drive manuals because of the mechanics of it,
They do now but they didn’t used to. Manual transmissions since the dawn of automobiles were the best way to extract power and efficiency from a motor. Manual gearboxes had no equal. They had less mechanical losses. They allowed the skilled operator, the best judge in that era, to change the torque and speed ratios to best fit the need, be it top speed, top torque for towing, or best fuel efficiency. The consequence of that is that the skill of the operator had a material effect on the vehicle itself. The better the operator in how and when to shift and how to use the clutch, the better the end resulting performance. This meant that prowess in operating a manual transmission was truly a valuable skill.
All of that is largely history. Computers just do it better now for nearly all transmission interactions 99% of the population interacts with. Yes, F1 drivers still have a need for it. Mega industrial trucks might need stick shift too. All of us buying cars at local dealerships are getting a less performant and less efficient vehicle if we’re buying a manual transmission today.
I’m not judging if you like to cosplay that it matters now on your daily driver. You do you, man. It doesn’t hurt me a bit, but isn’t trying to pass it off as “better” anymore intellectually dishonest?
I’m considering buying one. I don’t expect them to become mainstream, and I’m aware that the transmission isn’t working the same way an ICE transmission works, but the trade off of feeling seems worth it to me. I mean the choice here is either a normal EV or an EV cosplaying as a manual. ICE just isn’t a choice I can make in good conscience anymore.
A real car guy wouldn’t have anything in particular against EVs because he already drew the line at automatic transmissions.
Car guy checking in. I think Teslas are cool and all, but trains are the future. I want trains to be so good that people would rather take them so that people like me, who care a lot about driving, get to drive. And people who would rather read a book or play a game while commuting aren’t forced to drive when they clearly don’t want to.
I have a 1997 Prelude Type SH manual. And I’m looking to replace my 2012 auto Civic with an 8th Gen Accord LX manual because I really missed driving stick daily and want a cheap manual I can daily.
100% this. I’m passionately on the other end of the spectrum, where a car’s entire purpose is to get me from A to B without fanfare, prestige, or hassle. Also needs the birds eye camera because fuck parallel parking. Trains are a better way to do all that. And we should be moving more good with trains. Trucks are expensive and should be last mile exclusively.
The problem for most people is that trains, and other public transport, don’t take you from doorstep to doorstep. God help us all if we have to walk 1/4 mile to a stop. There is also politics preventing it, at least in America.
Civic? A car you can trust.
You can ev swap ice cars and keep the manual transmission. It’s actually the easiest way to swap to electric. I’ve always wanted to try it but it’s pretty pricey
Yeah but you get less power no range and the transmission just adds inefficiency
Eh, I feel like that way is still narrowly edged out in terms of ease by trading in your ICE vehicle for an EV at a dealership.
There are stick shift EVs. They’re expensive, but you can actually get an old ICE body, and convert it to an EV stick shift.
https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a44211128/toyota-prototype-ev-sports-car-manual-transmission/
They won’t sell, since electrics don’t work like ICE do.
If we’re talking about extracting the maximum amount of power or efficiency from a car, manual transmissions stopped working like that a while ago when they got computers shifting better than humans could. Aren’t modern Porche ICE manual transmission cars slower and less efficient than the automatic transmissions?
We are talking feel of driving. Fans drive manuals because of the mechanics of it, not because it’s a knob that goes in five directions. Automatics scale the power directly, you press a little, the car goes slow. You press a lot, it gains power immediately. ICEs don’t work that way.
FYI, I didn’t downvote you.
They do now but they didn’t used to. Manual transmissions since the dawn of automobiles were the best way to extract power and efficiency from a motor. Manual gearboxes had no equal. They had less mechanical losses. They allowed the skilled operator, the best judge in that era, to change the torque and speed ratios to best fit the need, be it top speed, top torque for towing, or best fuel efficiency. The consequence of that is that the skill of the operator had a material effect on the vehicle itself. The better the operator in how and when to shift and how to use the clutch, the better the end resulting performance. This meant that prowess in operating a manual transmission was truly a valuable skill.
All of that is largely history. Computers just do it better now for nearly all transmission interactions 99% of the population interacts with. Yes, F1 drivers still have a need for it. Mega industrial trucks might need stick shift too. All of us buying cars at local dealerships are getting a less performant and less efficient vehicle if we’re buying a manual transmission today.
I’m not judging if you like to cosplay that it matters now on your daily driver. You do you, man. It doesn’t hurt me a bit, but isn’t trying to pass it off as “better” anymore intellectually dishonest?
I don’t think they claimed it was better, just that some people prefer the control it gives them and also the feel of it.
I’m considering buying one. I don’t expect them to become mainstream, and I’m aware that the transmission isn’t working the same way an ICE transmission works, but the trade off of feeling seems worth it to me. I mean the choice here is either a normal EV or an EV cosplaying as a manual. ICE just isn’t a choice I can make in good conscience anymore.
Yeah you can, since hydrogen cars are a thing.