Quote:
Originally Posted by clyde
We mostly agree. Newer cars are quieter, more comfortable, and more isolated. That allows them to execute their utility mission better.
As Nick just confirmed, this is wrong.
Whether you’re spewing CO2 from your tailpipe or the coal plant across town to make your car do stuff means as much as whether you pick your nose with your right hand or left. I don’t understand why Tesla owners try to shift every automotive discussion to that topic. Oh, wait, yes I do. It like the recovering addict that tries to shift every discussion about everything to addiction. Except backwards, I guess. But, we’ll just call the red herring what it is, a misdirection to avoid reality.
A manual transmission is not a last vestige of interactivity. It’s a misplaced mechanical chore that served its purpose, but has remained stuck behind in time while everything else got so much better the whole thing kinda sucks because of it.
Here I am behind a fun sucking Escape driver idling off the line after the red light went green. This shifting thing is blast.
Here I am stuck behind another Camry going 32 mph in a 35 zone on a two lane road again. Sure glad I have that manual transmission to interactively, um, interactive myself.
Oh boy, stuck behind three vehicles in a tight echelon left formation all moving at the exact same speed again. That manual transmission sure is coming in handy.
Look at that, no one in front of me...just speed cameras every 50 yards. Shifting myself is super helpful here. Wait, wait, ow the road is clear, no cameras, some nice turns... Hmm, too much power in second gear. Keep breaking the tires loose (because, you know, DSC off motherfucker, because I’m a real driver and don’t need those bullshit nannies). And plenty of fucking flat line characterless torque in third gear to accelerate with punch...but getting to fourth gear is just too fast to be worth it.
This manual transmission thing. Yeah, it just fucking rocks in modern cars!
You’re right. I’m wrong. You convinced me.
Wait. This is my brain. This is my brain after smoking the manual transmission crackpipe for 30 some years.
The manual transmission’s time is over. Desperately clinging to a shifter is willful ignorance of the present.
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I would be as guilty as most for overthinking things.
But I know transmission choice is a subjective thing. Like styling. Or brands.
It appeals to me more when you call it an anachronism actually. There’s no logic for a sports car in our crowded first world lives. Why would a manual have anything to do with logic?
Why are handwoven rugs more expensive than machine made?
Why do some people buy handmade anything when 3D printers and robotics are more precise and superior? There are a lot of dumb choices in the world.
A manual seems less dumb than a lot of them at least.