|
|
Post by fretslider on May 13, 2013 2:20:12 GMT -5
why are you British men so enamoured of manual transmissions? Because most of us were taught on a 'stick shift', and frankly back in the 70s 'slush boxes' were limited to only 3 forward 'gears' (plus reverse, of course  ), were usually pretty crude in operation and were very expensive to run, like for like, against the same vehicle with a manual 'box... Plus, even today, you have more control with a manual 'box than an automatic. Best compromise is a semi-automatic arrangement, with an automatic 'box & paddle-shift  - but even then, I personally prefer a traditional transmission  I even hate the whining sound of an automatic.... and the way they creep forward. It must be the Clarkson in me..... |
|
Tempus Fugit
Global Facilitator
Contributing Member
Science - making religion look stupid since the 17th century.
Posts: 7,474 
|
Post by Tempus Fugit on May 13, 2013 5:22:44 GMT -5
" it had an automatic transmission by the way" Shame.  why are you British men so enamoured of manual transmissions? We're control freaks.  |
|
Tempus Fugit
Global Facilitator
Contributing Member
Science - making religion look stupid since the 17th century.
Posts: 7,474
|
Post by Tempus Fugit on May 13, 2013 5:42:01 GMT -5
no way would I EVER get in a Smart Car!!!!! we had a Geo and that was bad enough although we drove it from Florida back to California. Yes but you can slam it into a wall at 70mph and, in theory, it's an entirely survivable accident. When I was at uni' studying engineering we had to look at the development of the motor car and back in the '40s, '50s, '60s and even '70s when there were little or no regulatory standards on vehicle safety even a low-speed collision could be fatal - rigid chassis', no crumple zones to absorb the energy, no impact bars, no air bags, no collapsible steering columns, rigid unpadded steering wheels, no impact-detached pedal boxes, no seatbelts, no pre-tensioners and so on. Nowadays you can't put a car on the road let alone into market if it doesn't meet a minimum safety standard by law so if you're driving a modern car you're pretty safe no matter what size it is. Of course, when different vehicles of different sizes meet it can be a problem. I wouldn't like to go head-to-head with a Range Rover in a Smart, for example, because the RR is much higher and the chances are the Smart wouldn't so much as bounce off as go underneath, cleaving the top half off in the process, especially head-on. This used to be a big issue with lorries until the law mandated sidebars and "cow-catchers" to prevent cars, motorbikes and cyclists ploughing under them and slicing the heads off the occupants. This eventually got picked up on by the EU and made the standard for all lorries in the EU (if you look at it closely a lot of EU-wide standards on vehicle construction and safety, workplace health and safety, etc. have the bulk of their substance as a directly-lifted extract from original British law). Note low front ("cow-catcher") and lowered side panels:-   Same thing but without the fairings over the sidebars:-   And the rear "cow-catcher:-"  Oops - all those safety features probably didn't help here:-  |
|
|
|
Post by mouse on May 13, 2013 6:01:16 GMT -5
daughter is thinking of a smart car...they are ideal for pootling around...neither of us is into cars at all..they are simply a means of getting from A TO B..a necessary evil
...at the moment she has a fiesta which does to job to get her to work and for shopping etc[the one we had before was a kia ?? which was preferable to the fiesta imo
if it were for a traveling holiday or really long distances and more than the two of us..its as easy to hire some thing larger and more comfortable...but for every day a large car just isn't necessary....[sons and grandsons don't agree]
we don't really understand people who are defined by the car they drive or those who spend time cleaning them etc
she has gone off to Chester to do some retail therapy this morning in a great big range rover [all walnut and leather]owned by a friend who will only drive these big flash cars....don't see the point my self when a smaller one will do exactly the same job
|
|
Tempus Fugit
Global Facilitator
Contributing Member
Science - making religion look stupid since the 17th century.
Posts: 7,474
|
Post by Tempus Fugit on May 13, 2013 6:11:16 GMT -5
why are you British men so enamoured of manual transmissions? Because most of us were taught on a 'stick shift', and frankly back in the 70s 'slush boxes' were limited to only 3 forward 'gears' (plus reverse, of course ), were usually pretty crude in operation and were very expensive to run, like for like, against the same vehicle with a manual 'box... Plus, even today, you have more control with a manual 'box than an automatic. Best compromise is a semi-automatic arrangement, with an automatic 'box & paddle-shift - but even then, I personally prefer a traditional transmission Additionally, using the drag of the engine to slow down is more fuel-efficient than using the brakes (not entirely sure why, mind) and you need to be able to manually change down through the gears to do that. Taking your foot off the accelerator in an automatic causes the vehicle to coast slowly to a stop whereby a lower gear will be automatically selected only when you accelerate again. In a manual, lifting the right foot and then going down through the gears engenders a rapid and significant deceleration - with a lot more control over the vehicle. Furthermore, "dropping a cog" and then accelerating smoothly is a far more efficient way of putting on speed quickly (like, to overtake) than engaging the kick-down by rapidly depressing the right foot all the way and opening the taps to maximum. Okay, granted on a modern electronically-managed injection engine the whole kick-down take-off-like-a-scalded-cat thing might not be the tank-drainer it used to be but, then, how many of us are planning a trip to the dealer for a brand new latest-tech' car rather than the second-, third- or fourth-hand used, older box we have at the moment? Although, given the last sentence above, in the interests of full disclosure I should mention I drive a 20091.2l 75hp 5-speed manual Renault that hadn't been built when I paid for it (as in, seriously brand new). But that's just me... |
|
Tempus Fugit
Global Facilitator
Contributing Member
Science - making religion look stupid since the 17th century.
Posts: 7,474
|
Post by Tempus Fugit on May 13, 2013 6:27:00 GMT -5
I think it's a control thing. With a manual, they are in control of the car (or so it seems) ... with an automatic, it's more like the car calls the shots. Of course I could be wrong. Pretty much, yes. Last May I drove a hire car from Milford Haven in South Wales to home, when I left my ship down there at Pembroke Dock. Had to laugh when the agency bloke asked me if I could drive an automatic, as the car they'd had booked for me had not yet been returned... Anyway, this thing was an almost new Vauxhall (you know them as GM) Astra. It was forever changing gear whilst I was on the country roads from Milford Haven to Fishguard, Aberysthwyth, Machynlleth, Bala, Corwen & finally Chester, where I joined the motorway network to home. Much more so than if I'd been driving a manual gearbox car. It was very disconcerting - fortunately the car had cruise control, very unusual on a cheaper rental car in the UK, so I was able to try & ignore it, but it did feel unnatural  Lovely drive though Wales though, although if the roads had been busy I suspect I wouldn't have enjoyed it... Top Gear use a lot of Welsh roads to film their tests. I've had manual hire cars with cruise control. Great on the motorway. And for sticking to the speed limit on unfamiliar roads where you don't know where the horrid yellow boxes are! |
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on May 13, 2013 11:29:42 GMT -5
why are you British men so enamoured of manual transmissions? There is much to be said for crunching through the gears as fast as you can make the thing go as fast as it can as quickly as possible. You just can't get that with a wussy automatic, Cheffy. I love my automatic and will continue to drive them.......I have no need for crunching or going fast anymore.......hit the open road and put it on cruise control and I'm happy; shifting in town is such an extra chore I agree with Beth, the men like the control over the machine.....plain and simple as the nose on my face lol |
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on May 13, 2013 11:32:16 GMT -5
Because most of us were taught on a 'stick shift', and frankly back in the 70s 'slush boxes' were limited to only 3 forward 'gears' (plus reverse, of course ), were usually pretty crude in operation and were very expensive to run, like for like, against the same vehicle with a manual 'box... Plus, even today, you have more control with a manual 'box than an automatic. Best compromise is a semi-automatic arrangement, with an automatic 'box & paddle-shift - but even then, I personally prefer a traditional transmission I even hate the whining sound of an automatic.... and the way they creep forward. It must be the Clarkson in me..... maybe English automatics whine but mine doesn't........I love the sound of when the transmission starts slowing down to make a turn off the highway........when we were small, town was 30 miles away so we would fall asleep on the way home in the dark and the sound of that transmission as the car slowed down would soothe me and I would know I was home at last. I still get that feeling when I'm driving and it's quiet and I can hear the car slow down and I feel good inside.........crazy huh? |
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on May 13, 2013 11:32:55 GMT -5
what is the "paddle box" Mark keeps referring to??
|
|
Tempus Fugit
Global Facilitator
Contributing Member
Science - making religion look stupid since the 17th century.
Posts: 7,474
|
Post by Tempus Fugit on May 13, 2013 12:06:36 GMT -5
what is the "paddle box" Mark keeps referring to?? Is that "paddle shift" or "pedal box...?" If the latter, then that was me and refers to the arrangement whereby in a major impact the peddles and their mounting disconnect and float free. This is to reduce instances of people becoming trapped by their feet being caught between the pedals and the front firewall or for the pedal assembly to move rearwards and strike or pin the lower legs (although the latter is further reduced by modern design incorporating crumple zones). A paddle shift - or flappy-paddle gearbox - is a steering column-mounted means of changing gear. One paddle for up, the other for down (both are pulled towards the driver to operate, rather than having one paddle pulled to change up and pushed to change down, or the other way around - it's more instinctive to pull than push). en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semi-automatic_transmission#Operation |
|
|
|
Post by fretslider on May 13, 2013 13:07:25 GMT -5
There is much to be said for crunching through the gears as fast as you can make the thing go as fast as it can as quickly as possible. You just can't get that with a wussy automatic, Cheffy. I love my automatic and will continue to drive them.......I have no need for crunching or going fast anymore.......hit the open road and put it on cruise control and I'm happy; shifting in town is such an extra chore I agree with Beth, the men like the control over the machine.....plain and simple as the nose on my face lol If you hear someone sounding the horn to get a move on, that'll be me.... |
|
|
|
Post by fretslider on May 13, 2013 13:08:26 GMT -5
I even hate the whining sound of an automatic.... and the way they creep forward. It must be the Clarkson in me..... maybe English automatics whine but mine doesn't........I love the sound of when the transmission starts slowing down to make a turn off the highway........when we were small, town was 30 miles away so we would fall asleep on the way home in the dark and the sound of that transmission as the car slowed down would soothe me and I would know I was home at last. I still get that feeling when I'm driving and it's quiet and I can hear the car slow down and I feel good inside.........crazy huh? "crazy huh?" I'm saying nothing... |
|
Tempus Fugit
Global Facilitator
Contributing Member
Science - making religion look stupid since the 17th century.
Posts: 7,474
|
Post by Tempus Fugit on May 13, 2013 13:26:28 GMT -5
I agree with Beth, the men like the control over the machine.....plain and simple as the nose on my face lol British women drive the same range of cars as the men so I guess we're all just a race of control freaks, eh? |
|
Tempus Fugit
Global Facilitator
Contributing Member
Science - making religion look stupid since the 17th century.
Posts: 7,474
|
Post by Tempus Fugit on May 13, 2013 13:28:14 GMT -5
It must be the Clarkson in me..... Clarkson is frequently most disparaging of paddle shifts. |
|
Tempus Fugit
Global Facilitator
Contributing Member
Science - making religion look stupid since the 17th century.
Posts: 7,474
|
Post by Tempus Fugit on May 13, 2013 13:30:25 GMT -5
I love my automatic and will continue to drive them.......I have no need for crunching or going fast anymore.......hit the open road and put it on cruise control and I'm happy; shifting in town is such an extra chore I agree with Beth, the men like the control over the machine.....plain and simple as the nose on my face lol If you hear someone sounding the horn to get a move on, that'll be me.... Lead, follow or get the hell out of the way, as the saying goes. |
|
Alpha 
), were usually pretty crude in operation and were very expensive to run, like for like, against the same vehicle with a manual 'box...
- but even then, I personally prefer a traditional transmission 
