07-14-2019, 11:37 AM | #1 |
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Manual transmissions -- CR’s take
I know that many here don't like Consumers Report but try listening to the podcasts -- they are enthusiastic drivers.
But they have an interesting suggestion for new teen drivers. They suggest providing the teen with a manual transmission vehicle, NOT an automatic. The logic is that a manual transmission requires attention and engagement (duh!) and that will help them keep focused on driving and not on their boyfriends/girlfriends and smart phones. So CR may be the enthusiasts's best and last friend. |
07-14-2019, 02:38 PM | #3 |
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My 16 year old son on his permit thinks manual transmissions are stupid. I think he both thinks this and expresses this opinion to piss me off.
My 20 year old daughter wants me to teach her to drive stick, but I think her primary objective is to be able to drive my car. |
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07-14-2019, 02:40 PM | #4 | |
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07-14-2019, 03:41 PM | #6 |
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This is the most poorly thought out idea ever. By the time the driver is competent to operate the manual on public roads most of the actions are automatic and don't require any thought at all. The young driver will still manage to be on their phone as much as anyone.
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07-14-2019, 03:52 PM | #7 | |
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07-14-2019, 05:19 PM | #8 |
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CR may be car enthusiasts but that doesn't mean they know what the hell they are taking about. I thought they are into fuel efficiency with 10 speed auto and stuffs. Giving a kid a 6 speed manual is like asking them to do burn out and drifting.
I remember Mike Ditka was proposing football players not wearing helmets to eliminate head injuries. Brilliant! |
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07-14-2019, 11:37 PM | #10 |
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But the parents can't drive a manual, so the idea is dead in the water.
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07-15-2019, 12:57 AM | #11 |
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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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07-15-2019, 01:45 AM | #12 | |
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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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07-15-2019, 07:53 AM | #13 | |
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+1. I knew well before I started driving that my first car would be a manual. I wanted to be engaged in every aspect of having that privilege.
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07-15-2019, 08:56 AM | #14 |
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The idea makes some sense but seeing most cars are auto in this day and age and with EV's on the horizon manual transmission cars will become more scarce than today and whatever they learn will be lost in short time. There are plenty of people that used to drive manual transmissions decades ago that are terrible drivers today because the primary issue today is that drivers are lazy and distracted. As a society we no longer appreciate, respect, and understand the responsibility required when behind the wheel of a motor vehicle and I don't think a a year or two of driving with a manual transmission is going to change much as their next car will likely be an automatic and their skills will erode. Autonomous cars are probably change for the better unfortunately so driving is no longer a distraction for those that can't put down their phones.
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07-15-2019, 09:09 AM | #15 | |
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07-15-2019, 09:12 AM | #16 | |
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Learning to drive a manual is just basic training and makes for a better over all driver. Did you teach your kids how to count, or just use a calculator? |
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07-15-2019, 09:51 AM | #17 | ||
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07-15-2019, 10:29 AM | #18 | ||
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07-15-2019, 11:06 AM | #19 |
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The last two times I've rented a car in Europe, the representative apologized to me and said they are all out of automatic vehicles. They were both genuinely surprised when I replied that I prefer a manual. SMH.
The last time I went over, I rented a turbo diesel manual Passat wagon. It ticked so many of my boxes. Add AWD and I would have stuffed it in my carry-on.
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07-16-2019, 12:44 PM | #20 | |
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- Heavily punitive penalties for hits above the shoulders or leading with the head - Cultural (i.e., nowhere near as litigious societies as ours, and players accept both the personal risks and the responsibility for that risk toward and among other players). Sorry, but Ditka's onto something. The rules have to change, and players have to share the responsibility for the risk. As for the thread topic: I give CR about as much car-culture street cred (pun intended) as I give Garth Brooks metalhead street cred. Inane advice, as usual. With as much bread-and-butter content as CR deals with, it should know that at this stage the vast, vast, vast majority of parents don't give a whit about how a car works, much less how it gets from Point A to Point B -- ergo, their kids won't either.
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07-16-2019, 07:21 PM | #21 | |
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Edit: When I taught my girlfriend how to drive a manual, the concept and execution of rev matching was absolutely something we went over. Being smooth with the clutch and gas isn't something that's reserved for racetracks; I would think it's something appreciated by both the mechanicals and any passengers.
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07-16-2019, 08:38 PM | #22 | |
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Regardless, I was addressing jmg's comment regarding rev matching AND using a heel 'n toe technique; even he knew it was funny...
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A manual transmission can be set to "comfort", "sport", and "track" modes simply by the technique and speed at which you shift it; it doesn't need "modes", modes are for manumatics that try to behave like a real 3-pedal manual transmission. If you can money-shift it, it's a manual transmission. "Yeah, but NO ONE puts an automatic trans shift knob on a manual transmission."
Last edited by Efthreeoh; 07-16-2019 at 08:52 PM.. |
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