because obviously the market was screaming for an auto that was half as reliable as 1990s first gen electronically controlled automatics. However, the problem has become somewhat endemic, It seems that the automakers have been slicing beans too thin the past decade, and there’s large segments of the market that have motors that can’t be expected to go much past 150,000. Don’t buy a Nissan, they don’t stand behind their products any more. Random used cars I have owned and self serviced have gone twice the age and mileage. I do not want to be looking for a car right now, but just had an abrupt out of warranty failure on my 7 year old dealer serviced Nissan, which I was assured would be a way more durable purchase than a random used car. We can just shorten it to that right now, supply chain issues are a bastard. “You would be lucky to find a new car in the US/Canada ” Posted in car hacks, Hackaday Columns, Rants, Slider Tagged automatic transmission, clutch, electric cars, electriv vehicles, evs, manual transmission, semi-automatic, semi-manual Post navigation So, does driving really need to be a place of convenience? I think not. But we’re all more distracted than ever, and we’re all still mostly human. Sure, we have speed limits now, and roll cages, and seat belts. Shouldn’t it, though? In the hundred and thirty or so years of the automobile, the one thing we haven’t managed to make safer is our interactions with each other on the road. Now, doesn’t that just about sum it up? ‘Doesn’t take any driver skill’. As Bob Sorokanich, editor-in-chief of Jalopnik said, “Tesla has the quickest car on the market - just floor the accelerator and hang on. Realistically, those things don’t matter unless you’re a professional driver on a closed course.

And besides, how often are you out there redlining your engine or testing the 0-60? Oh, never? That’s what I thought. There’s no engagement, no feeling like you are one with the car. Henry Catchpole, automotive journalistĮlectric cars may be powerful and have a ton of instantly available torque, but it’s just not the same experience. We don’t wax lyrical about paddle shifters as we do about manual gearboxes. But obviously, the landscape is changing and has been for about 20 years now. Not a new breed, of course - electric cars have been around almost as long as combustion models. I’m not saying that EVs don’t have their sensory landmarks, I just believe they are a different breed. In a regular car, you’re just more in tune with what’s going on. The EV just seems so soulless to me, and I know I’m not alone in this. This phenomenon isn’t restricted to sports cars, either - the 2022 Ford Bronco comes in a seven-speed manual, and has seen a take rate over 20%. Two models of Honda Civic are manual-only. From Audi to the Nissan Z, automakers report that the take rate for manual transmissions is quite high in the US, despite the death knell that has been tolling for two decades or so. As the age of the combustion engine appears to draw to a close (no, seriously this time), there’s just one thing keeping the door open - marked enthusiasm for manual transmissions. You can imagine then my horror at the idea that someday within my lifetime, most cars will be twist-and-go electric go-karts. And it’s not a chore if it gets you more, although the fuel efficiency thing is a myth at this point.

Face it, shifting gears is just plain cooler. Any sports car worth its rich Corinthian leather (or whatever) has a manual transmission, right? And you know that Rush’s Red Barchetta ain’t no automatic.

A driver has options other than braking and praying on slippery roads. I drove enough go-karts and played enough Pole Position as a kid to know that shifting the gears yourself is simply where it’s at when it comes to tooling around in anything that isn’t human-powered. Call me crazy, but I’m ride or die for manual transmissions.

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