Quote:
Originally Posted by jkoral
Quote:
Originally Posted by jmg
I love manuals and I grew up on them but the manual is dead. Might as well teach them how to rewind a VCR, read pager codes, or use a rotary phone. It's a waste of time and resources. Instead of spending hours teaching them manual, teach them how to be good drivers. Teach them that the fast lane is for passing only, how to be respectful of other drivers, etc. I'd rather they know those things then how to downshift rev match heel toe etc.
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Learning how to drive a manual and learning how to be a good driver are not mutually exclusive.
I don't think CR is reviewing VCRs or pagers, or rotary phones, but on the cover of the August 2019 Car and Driver:
Five $25,000 Hatchbacks that are saving the manuals
(The five are Honda Civic Sport, Mazda 3, Hyundai Elantra GT N-Line, Volkswagen Golf SE, Toyota Corolla XSE).
So calling it dead is a just little hyperbolic.
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They are not mutually exclusive, however, time and resources are finite. I'd rather they learn things like emergency braking, oversteer correction, wet handling, etc. along with road etiquette and basic common sense. Driving a manual is not the only engaging aspect of driving. We have teach new drivers to be more connected to the automobile by going a set further in driving dynamics and emergency maneuvers-almost like the teen drivers program at the BMW performance center. Show them what an out of control car feels like and how easily things can go from bad to worse. Then they will emit only respect the skill of driving, but they will know how to react better than how we were taught. I think that's part of the problem. Current driver training is too basic. I understand that teaching manuals can help in that regard, but manuals will be gone in the very bear future. Wet roads and emergency maneuvers won't be.