new cars with manual transmission options

[clyde]

Originally Posted by AF

man my headlights are off, it took me forever to find the switch

After my dad hit about 60, learning new cars became an increasingly difficult chore for him. Putting him in the driver seat of a rental...oh boy. Finding and figuring out how to operate the control to do whatever the thing he wanted took 100% of his concentration. He'd wait until he was stopped to adjust the climate controls, but if it suddenly started raining and he didn't where the windshield wiper controls were or how they operated?

Part of it was him, part was age, but a big part is that so few controls are "standard" any more. Every manufacturer is afraid of the others' patents so, instead of licensing, they try to build a better mousetrap. So every car with an automagic trimode-paddleshifting-buttonpushing-CVTPDKDSGSMG transmission with super clear and obvious gear and mode names with their controls on the console, behind the wheel, on the wheel, on the back of the wheel, and who the fuck knows were else does its part to ensure nothing works the same.

It's dangerous. It's costly. It's annoying. It's fucking stupid.

There was a time if you could hop in one car and get to driving in 10 seconds, you could get in any car and get to driving in 10 seconds. Get in a new car today...?

Anyway, before I rant

[rumatt]

Originally Posted by clyde

Anyway, before I rant

[clyde]

Originally Posted by John V

The first thing I do when getting in a car that has that stuff is turn it all off. The auto braking thing is dangerous.

When those things are buried 4 levels deep in an on screen menu and you have no idea which screen operated by which buttons, knobs, or your fingers, and they need to be disabled every time you turn the car on?

Originally Posted by blee

The argument is being made that everyone will be safer if we just let computers take over. Traffic will merge more efficiently, we'll never have accidents (in theory), and everyone will be able to Facebook and eat cereal instead of pay attention. I hate it but it's almost a certainty.

It's going to happen. I just wonder if self-driving is banned before the end the carmudgeon-generation's lfetime.

[Alan]

Originally Posted by clyde

There was a time if you could hop in one car and get to driving in 10 seconds, you could get in any car and get to driving in 10 seconds. Get in a new car today...?

I kind of go through this ‘problem’ on a daily basis since I switch off cars throughout the week, a dumb example of this is I go to parallel park the R8 yesterday and can’t fix out why the passengers rear view mirror isn’t tilting down when I’m in reverse ... I played around with the mirror switch and still couldn’t figure it out ... now I’m thinking does this car even have that feature you would think after owning it for almost 3 1/2 years I’d know this, also the other day I plugged my phone into a usb connection to play music in the MDX... for the life of me I couldn’t figure out how to get it to play music I finally gave up

Half the time I get into these cars and am trying to figure sh*t out.

[equ]

Porsche reverse-tilt and bmw reverse-tilt use opposite sides (bmw when on left and porsche when on right).

Porsche 981 handbrake is push, bmw 535i handbrake is pull. Both electronic. Grrr...

Jeep parking brake is push by foot, sort of like an archaic 981. It doesn't seem to work much, as in I can easily drive off (and the dealer says that's how they are).

Jeep windshield wiper controls are overloaded on the turn signal, high beam stalk. This includes front/rear on/off/mist/speeds and squirts front & rear. Way too much on one stalk.

Other than the e-brake and lack of two front cupholders, I think the f10 535i is the best cabin, comfortable, simple. Porsche has the most buttons. Generally ergonomic, but for me a dislike are driving-related controls require me to take my eyes off the road (exactly when I don't want to):
- exhaust on/off
- normal/sports/sports+
- shocks normal/stiff
Ideally, these (along with stability that I don't touch) should have been knobs on the steering wheel.

Where as the BMW *mode* button is reachable by feel right next to the shifter. Comfort/Auto/Sport/Sport+. DTC doesn't require eyes off either.

[Terri Kennedy]

Originally Posted by clyde

It's going to happen. I just wonder if self-driving is banned before the end the carmudgeon-generation's lfetime.

In the best of all worlds, the average texting-while-allegedly-driving people will have autonomous cars, making things safer for us. It should also help with traffic-slowdown-for-no-reason things where someone jams on their brakes and that disrupts traffic for an hour as things turn into a stop-and-go ripple effect. And the few non-autonomous cars still sold will be totally enthusiast-focused, since that will be the only market for them.

Sadly, the best of all worlds seems to be less and less of a possibility these days.

Hard to believe that "A Nice Morning Drive" is 45 years old, and the Rush song "Red Barchetta" it inspired is 37 years old.

[ff]

Originally Posted by Terry Kennedy

In the best of all worlds, the average texting-while-allegedly-driving people will have autonomous cars, making things safer for us. It should also help with traffic-slowdown-for-no-reason things where someone jams on their brakes and that disrupts traffic for an hour as things turn into a stop-and-go ripple effect. And the few non-autonomous cars still sold will be totally enthusiast-focused, since that will be the only market for them.

I like it. But unfortunately most of us probably couldn't afford how expensive those last remaining enthusiast-focused cars would have to be. Which would put the last nail in their coffin too.

[Nick M3]

The more I drive Mike’s 335i, the more I start to think that modern turbo cars are best “enjoyed” with an automatic or DCT.

[JST]

No.

[Nick M3]

Originally Posted by JST

No.

Maybe it's just an N55 problem. But it drives me crazy.