Manual vs Automatic

The Manual Transmission Is Nearing its Death, But Not There Yet

Stick shifting is becoming a rarity in new cars and manuals are nonexistent in EV models, but there's hope they'll last just a while longer.

Manual transmissions are dying. I know you’ve heard this before, have heard it for years, but the death of the stick shift is imminent now that the auto industry is moving to EVs. Unless someone makes a gearbox that’s commercially viable in EVs, we will soon wave goodbye to new manual-transmission equipped cars. But the farewell would have to be a celebration as much as a mourning, and it should acknowledge that what we’re losing is our connection to the machine.

Ian Bogost’s eulogy to the manual transmission, published in the Atlantic, manages all that. I encourage you to go read it, because Bogost casts a wide net that traces the decline of the stick shift to the rise of computers and automation. First, we’ll lose the manual transmission. Then, we’ll lose the steering wheel. And, finally, we’ll lose the car and gain a rolling living room.

When EVs give way to autonomous vehicles — or, if — cars will be movable sterile spaces that ferry us around without much input. In that sense, automobiles will truly earn their name as self-moving things that don’t need us. And I think that’s what makes the impending death of manual transmissions so sad. As Bogost says, it decouples us from our driving machines.

That loss is familiar to enthusiasts who agonize over what will replace our own cars when the time comes. Bogost notes a steady drop in the availability of manual cars: in 2000, over 15 percent of cars sold by CarMax were manuals. By, 2020 that dropped to 2.4 percent. And now, only about 30 new cars can be bought with a manual transmission in the U.S.

jalopnik.com

The Manual Transmission Is Nearing Its Death, But Not There Yet - Jalopnik

Manual transmissions are dying. I know you’ve heard this before, have heard it for years, but the death of the stick shift is imminent now that the auto industry is moving to EVs. Unless someone makes a gearbox that’s commercially viable in EVs, we will soon wave goodbye to new...
jalopnik.com jalopnik.com
 
  • Sad
Reactions: J&B
FiestaST said:
The Manual Transmission Is Nearing its Death, But Not There Yet

Stick shifting is becoming a rarity in new cars and manuals are nonexistent in EV models, but there's hope they'll last just a while longer.

Manual transmissions are dying. I know you’ve heard this before, have heard it for years, but the death of the stick shift is imminent now that the auto industry is moving to EVs. Unless someone makes a gearbox that’s commercially viable in EVs, we will soon wave goodbye to new manual-transmission equipped cars. But the farewell would have to be a celebration as much as a mourning, and it should acknowledge that what we’re losing is our connection to the machine.

Ian Bogost’s eulogy to the manual transmission, published in the Atlantic, manages all that. I encourage you to go read it, because Bogost casts a wide net that traces the decline of the stick shift to the rise of computers and automation. First, we’ll lose the manual transmission. Then, we’ll lose the steering wheel. And, finally, we’ll lose the car and gain a rolling living room.

When EVs give way to autonomous vehicles — or, if — cars will be movable sterile spaces that ferry us around without much input. In that sense, automobiles will truly earn their name as self-moving things that don’t need us. And I think that’s what makes the impending death of manual transmissions so sad. As Bogost says, it decouples us from our driving machines.

That loss is familiar to enthusiasts who agonize over what will replace our own cars when the time comes. Bogost notes a steady drop in the availability of manual cars: in 2000, over 15 percent of cars sold by CarMax were manuals. By, 2020 that dropped to 2.4 percent. And now, only about 30 new cars can be bought with a manual transmission in the U.S.

jalopnik.com

The Manual Transmission Is Nearing Its Death, But Not There Yet - Jalopnik

Manual transmissions are dying. I know you’ve heard this before, have heard it for years, but the death of the stick shift is imminent now that the auto industry is moving to EVs. Unless someone makes a gearbox that’s commercially viable in EVs, we will soon wave goodbye to new...
jalopnik.com jalopnik.com
Click to expand...
I don't think anyone can think of a manual gearbox inside an EV.
 
With a number of governments enforcing the sale of EVs only in a few years time for new car purchases, and many more following suit, the gearbox as we know it (manual or automatic) is going to disappear entirely.
 
Those that still have/use a manual (stick shift) tranny should use the expression “row your own gears” more frequently. It adds a level of additional charm.
 
Neuk_ said:
Took my '81 MkI Golf GLS for a drive this last weekend, I do enjoy driving a manual, even though it is not a 'sports' car but wouldn't like to do it every day.
Click to expand...

you getting "soft" now ?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X