same here, i can't figure out the logic behind

 

Fewer and fewer people know how to drive, I mean REALLY DRIVE ...... sad ......

 

There BETTER not have been any grinds. By the 1970's, virtually all cars had full-synchros in all forward gears.

That was not necessarily the case, though, with earlier cars. My father, for a few years, had a 1968 manual-transmission Plymouth that still had an unsynchronized first gear. I crunched it a little (not badly) the first time I tried to hit first on a downshift without stopping....I was ignorant, in those days, of how synchros worked.

The reason why, of course, is obvious. American roads......and traffic......have become steadily more congested over the years, espcially in urban/suburban areas, and, in some places like SoCal, D.C. Metro, and Atlanta, traffic has reached absurd levels.

On the numbers, that sounds about about right, except for purpose-designed sports/sporty cars like the Miata and Corvette, which, of course, have a much higher percentage of manuals.

Some Subaru fans, for instance, recently complained about Subie dropping the MT Turbo Forester, but manual-equpped models, even with the turbo, averaged only 4-6% in sales.


You don't HAVE to learn how to drive a stick in driving school...transitioning from an automatic, in most cases, isn't that difficult. I first learned to drive on an old 3-speed 60's-vintage automatic, then, after I got proficient on two pedals (which didn't take very long), started practice on three-pedal cars. It still wasn't that big of a deal to adapt to a stick, except, of course, as I described above, where I had to learn (by a light crunch or two) that some manuals weren't fully-synchro in all the gears.

Some automatic/auto-manuals now get BETTER performance, both acceleration and MPG-wise, than straight manuals. I've listed several examples of this in the cars I've reviewed.

Shhhhhh........I don't want people to know that I take Glucosamine for my knees. Can't complain, though.....it works. I can still drive a manual if I have to....say, during a review or driving a friend's car.

I don't necessarily agree with this. A good auto-manual transmission like VW's DSG/Shiftronic or BMW's SMG can give you the best of both worlds. I find the DSG, especially, to be a superb gearbox, even for enthusiast driving.

You don't even have to heel-and-toe any more with some manuals. The Nissan 370Z, for instance, automatically rev-matches with the electronics when the clutch pedal is depressed. Some Z enthusiasts complained about that, but I tried that feature when I reviewed the 370Z and liked it.

 

My Subaru gets 30+ on the highway which makes it a great road trip vehicle. However, the last two long trips I took, I've been stuck driving all 12 hours (one way) to South Carolina cause no one else knows how to drive the car.

 

I'd actually quite like to learn how to drive a manual car well. I can probably drive it gingerly if need be.

But to deal with every day, I could not bring myself to do that.

 

I feel that a manual transmission is the best way to connect you directly to the car and the driving experience. I recently had an opportunity to drive a modified EVO X and the manual trans in the car and the insane power made it an experience I will not forget any time soon.

 

You don't necessarily have to have a stick to get good mileage anymore....just drive smoothly and moderately. My AWD Outback, with automatic, at 60 MPH, got from 30-33 MPG (depending on if the A/C was running or not) from the D.C. area down Route 50, across the Bay Bridge, to the MD beaches and back. EPA Highway for this car is only 28.

 

dying art huh

 

I have been driving my 5 speed for almost a year. I really only drive in the city too. I doubt that 92% of people know how to drive a manual. Maybe that is the case in Europe. Manual equipped cars are very popular in Europe still. About 50% of cars are manual there I believe.

Oh and my reverse gear is not synchronized. And 1-5 only have 1 synchronizer each gear I think. The new manuals have two or three for 1-3 I think. Is it easier to do smoother shifts with gearboxes with more synchronizers?

 

There's no need for reverse synchros. You're supposed to come to a full stop before engaging reverse, anyway. If you don't, it can risk transmission damage.

Many factors are involved in smooth manual-shifting, including the shift linkage, clutch design, clutch/disc-lining material, synchros, number of cones (many modern manuals have triple-cone synchros), and, of course, how skilled and smooth the driver is in his actions. But there were some cars that, no matter what you did, were very difficult to get smooth manual-shifts with, because of their poor transmission/clutch designs. The old Plymouth/Dodge column-mounted, three-on-the-tree units and the 4-on the floor GM X-Body (Citation, Phoenix, Skylark, Omega) are two good examples. The 4MT X-body cars, because of their awkward clutch, were especially hard to drive smoothly in traffic.

 

i bought a 1990 Ford Escort Manual for 250 quid in London. the owner left me all alone in the empty parking space, so i can learn how to drive the car. so i practiced for like 2 hours and then took it outside of the parking lot. it was an adventure of my life time. i had to pick up my wife who just finished here school in RCM. she usually takes a tube, but i called her and told her that i'll pick her up in couple of hours.

i drove Epping to South Kensington in the middle of crazy london traffic. i thought i was gonna die. i stalled in every stops, got lost, and got middle fingered. epping to S. kensington was like 40 miles? took me 3 1/2 hours and made my wife wait for almost 2 hours. mysteriously i received 3 tickets few weeks later. lol

 

I also learned from my father and I'm so happy he taught me; since then I've taught two friends how to drive stick. Becoming a good manual driver though is more of a personal thing I don't think can be taught, I think you have to want to be a part of the car and feel the car and the connection etc.

I completely agree with both of you guys; when I drive my M, the feeling and the connection I have with the car is just ... almost indescribable and I love every drive. I'm not sure I'll ever give up my M3 (unless it's for another manual M3). I drove the SMG - pass, hands down pass.

Oh I know, I'm convinced that if everyone learned to drive stick the world would have much better drivers in it. People would leave more space, there would be less random braking, people would pay more attention to what's going on around them, etc.

 

It's a dying breed for sure...Automakers may end up nixing the Manual tranny all together in 20 years...lol

On a serious note, I love driving manual-equipped vehicles. It's fun and engaging. I'm more than grateful to own a manual tranny Lexus. In fact, I daily drive my 5-speed Civic and I think it's quite cool. The ONLY reason why I didn't opt for a stick shift Tacoma was that I was going to tow a boat in the future. I also tend to travel further(and sit in more traffic) with my truck. The only gripe I have driving a manual tranny is obviously in grid-lock traffic. It sucks to sum it up.

My dad,mom, and my 2 younger brothers all know how to drive stick as well. I think that's awesome. My mom is 48 years old and uses my Civic when I leave it at her place...LoL.

I'm 99.9% certain that my next vehicle will have a 6-Speed...either a Z06 or an M3

 

Yes.....and that is something you have to take VERY seriously if you are shopping for a daily driver for commuting traffic. Too many guys say "Yeah, I can handle a MT in L.A. or D.C. traffic, no problem"........then get one, find out they CAN'T, and are sorry they did. Manual cars are fine for some weekend fun away from traffic, but they just don't cut it in urban areas. That's why manuals have been dying out in recent years....along with cars having better torque-converter automatics, CVTs, SMTs, and twin-clutch DSGs.

 

The day the no longer manuals, is the day I no longer buy a car...