The reason that manual transmissions may go away...

bmw555

bmw555

2
#21
Messages
214
Likes
0
Location
San Francisco
#21
Guys, this is pointless discussion. It all boils down to the demand-supply law not to mpg. As long as there are people buying cars with manual gerabox they will make it. Difference in mpg is so subtle that it makes no real effect on CAFE requirements. BMW always sold many more cars with auto in US just because of demand for them, although they had worse mpg rating than manuals untill recently. That's what I say: manuals always will be around because there always will be some number of people willing to buy them.
When TV was invented many predicted that there would be no newspapers anymore, but newspapers still printed every day regardless of TV and internet, think about it.
 
bahnstormer

bahnstormer

2
#23
Messages
3,420
Likes
0
Location
Metuchen NJ
#23
everyone seems to have forgotten that smg and autos all weigh more than a manual
tranny. thus it will be slower. simple phsyics..

of course this is limited to any single gear acceleration run, taking out the time to shift factor...

also works well around corners and braking...
 
MrElussive

MrElussive

2
#24
Messages
6,984
Likes
0
Location
New Jersey
#24
Big Daddy, Here is what I was trying to say: Take a 330Ci auto vs a 330Ci manual.
Let's say you accelerate normally from 0-40mph. The auto will get the car there faster because autos shift faster and smoother thanks to the way auto trannies work. In this case, the manual will be slower because you naturally make slower shifts and as soon as you push the clutch in, the car pretty much stops accelerating. When autos change gears, they are still maintaining acceleration and the engine doesn't really stop. The auto will also get better gas mileage in city driving because the engine will keep rpm's down low whereas most manual drivers like to upshift at around 2,600-3,400rpm for normal driving.

On a daily basis, an auto transmission will deliver faster, smoother performance, and better gas mileage. In a hard 0-60 run, the manual will be faster and in very few cases (such as straight highway driving), the manual will deliver better gas mileage.

Ultimately, if you don't care for the driving experience of a manual transmission, you are easily better off with an automatic. Automatics are nice and comfortable and easy to deal with, but I really prefer the way the manual constantly keeps you much more in tune with the engine, and ultimately more in tune with the car. So personally, if I ever feel like I need to get rid of that clutch pedal, I'd rather go with an F1 gearbox as opposed to an automatic transmission.
 
E

epj3

Senior Member
#28
Messages
7,370
Likes
0
Location
Lancaster, PA
#28
Bmw 325i 7803 said:
Yes, in 10-20 years Hyundia, Kia, and Daewoo will offer wonderful manual transmissions in their cars, and I presume it will be a major selling point.

I can picture the ad with OPTIONAL MANUAL TRANSMISSION as a major marketing feature...
Click to expand...
YEa1!!! YOU'RE RIGHT! LOTUS, LAMBORGHINI, AND MANY OTHERS WILL JUST GET RID OF ALL MANUAL TRANSMISSIONS. DAMN THOSE KIA'S!!








In 10 years if kia is the only one offering a manual... I will then have a kia in my garage ;-)
 
I

I love my 5 Series

Member
#30
Messages
61
Likes
0
Location
Simi Valley, CA
#30
Guys, it's based on two things: 1. supply and demand 2. cost of manufacturing vs return on investment. Car manufacturers are looking for ways to make money, so if the public stopped buying manuals (where the trend is heading), why would they continue building them. Try to find a midsize or larger SUV with a manual. There are very few available and it's not because of CAFE. Also, if this were about CAFE, then the manufacturers would stop building V-8's and push more high mileage 4 cylinder cars.
 
mjbst111

mjbst111

2
#31
Messages
880
Likes
0
Location
Pittsburgh, PA
#31
automatics make me sleepy. If they stop making manuals then i hope they come out with self driving cars. The fun of driving would be gone anyway. And i won't have to worry about sleeping at the wheel.
 
aNoodle

aNoodle

1000 Post Club
#32
Messages
1,137
Likes
0
Location
Athens, GA
#32
mjbst111 said:
automatics make me sleepy. If they stop making manuals then i hope they come out with self driving cars. The fun of driving would be gone anyway. And i won't have to worry about sleeping at the wheel.
Click to expand...
Hehehe...

Hey nobody said anything....do you think BMW will come out with a CVT like Audi...a continuously variable tranny?
 
E

epj3

Senior Member
#33
Messages
7,370
Likes
0
Location
Lancaster, PA
#33
Average Jae said:
your love of manuals must've blinded not only your sight, but your decision making skills [hihi]
Click to expand...
Oh i didn't say it would be the ONLY thing in my garage, it would be my beater. I'd go out and beat the hell out of it.
 
PhatBimmer

PhatBimmer

2
#34
Messages
681
Likes
0
Location
Chicago, IL
#34
Ok first off,

Someone mentioned Torque Converter locking up? Someone please explain this to me, are you talking about the clutches they have now in TC? there only for emissions and nothing else!

Secondly automatics release far far less emissions than manuals thus that is why their going to automatics over manuals and plus although cheaper (I think) to fix manuals to an automatic, automatics pretty much have their life expectancy calculated at the companies by engineers and that all boils down to expenses and so on that go under warranties and blah blah blah yeah.

CVT are going to probably be the future and automatics aren't that half bad, they only weight more because they have so much fluid and all those components [:I] lol

its all emissions and a little bit of MPG that plays in it. Besides the computers can do stuff better than us lol that I learned in school [:(] [wiggle]
 
Kirby

Kirby

2
#35
Messages
4,917
Likes
18
Location
Reading,PA
#35
In the "old days" there was always fluid slip at any speed, so gas mileage suffered a bit. Lockup torque converters have a clutch that mechanically couples under light to normal loads for better mileage and performance. They came out in the very late 70s, popular by the mid 80s.
 
MrElussive

MrElussive

2
#36
Messages
6,984
Likes
0
Location
New Jersey
#36
CVT transmissions are nice and the auto industry is making a big deal out of it, but they have been around for years...not on cars, though! Snowmobiles have been using the CVT setup for a long time, then it started being used on ATV's (one of my quads has a CVT tranny). CVT provides good gas mileage and an infinite amount of "simulated" gear ratios, but our problem now is the way it works. A lot of car engines have too much power that would go to the drive belt of the CVT and it would just slip. A few cars have CVT now, but nothing really performance-oriented. Yeah there is the Audi A4 1.8T (now 2.0T) w/CVT but that is not very fast.
 
jrt67ss350

jrt67ss350

2
#39
Messages
1,831
Likes
0
Location
Winston Salem, NC
#39
MrElussive said:
A few cars have CVT now, but nothing really performance-oriented. Yeah there is the Audi A4 1.8T (now 2.0T) w/CVT but that is not very fast.
Click to expand...
The B5 Audi A4 3.0 had the CVT as an option. That car had 220hp and 221 lb-ft. I believe this was/is the highest powered car ever offered with a CVT.

I can almost guarantee that BMW will never offer a CVT simply because of the design required for it - the layout of the CVT design pretty much requires a front wheel drive setup in a car. The transmission design for a rear wheel drive car would be really awkward. Notice that the Audi CVTs are only available on FrontTrak cars, not quattro cars (at least it was this way with the B5).

I'd never buy a CVT anyways - it's just way too weird when driving the car under heavy throttle. I don't like it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.


Top