Manual transmissions finally on the way out?
For many years, the US and European markets have been mirror images when it comes to transmission choices. Both markets have been split roughly 90/10 percent with the American market favoring automatics and the Europeans (and most of the rest of the world) preferring to shift for themselves. Overseas drivers have gone for manuals for the increased efficiency at least in part because of the much higher gas prices there.
Now with the proliferation of advanced power-trains, particularly hybrids, getting them to operate smoothly with a stick-shift is getting problematic. As a result, many of these cars are only available with automatics or CVTs that can be programmed to manage the shifts to work effectively with the rest of the power-train. The other main driving force is increased congestion in urban areas, that can make rowing a gearbox a rather unpleasant experience.
As the world migrates to primarily electrically driven vehicles like the Chevy Volt and Ford HySeries Edge, that will drive the final nail in the coffin of the shift-it-yourself gearbox. Electric motors offer essentially a flat torque curve from zero rpm up to their maximum speed. Electric vehicles generally have a single or two speed transmission, plus a reverse gear, because that is all they need.
[Source: AutoExpress]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
TDIMeister 8:11PM (2/14/2007)
"Electric motors offer essentially a flat torque curve from zero rpm up to their maximum speed."
Actually, electric motors only have an essentially flat torque curve from 0 RPM until the field weakening speed, beyond which the torque falls off with increasing RPM to maintain roughly constant power.
As an extension of the concept that debuted in production in the Toyota Prius, 2 or more electric motor/generators -- with- or without an IC engine -- arranged in a planetary gearset, can create a very efficient and elegantly simple CVT system.
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George Krpan 7:58PM (2/15/2007)
Yamaha introduced a clutchless FJ1300 motorcycle this year. A magazine tester found that without being able to slip the clutch that a element of control was missing. I'm not disputing that automatics can achieve better mileage. I'm merely pointing out why some people prefer a manual transmission.
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Tormod 5:51AM (2/15/2007)
plus a reverse gear...?
I belived an electric car didn't need a reverse gear, you just spin the motor the other way. One of the complexity saving features of an electric drive train.
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Sam Abuelsamid 10:05AM (2/15/2007)
Tormod, It depends on the type of motor you use. Some motors can run in reverse by simply switching polarity, some will only run in one direction.
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Jim 10:08AM (2/15/2007)
" Overseas drivers have gone for manuals for the increased efficiency at least in part because of the much higher gas prices there."
You might reasonably suspect the small engines in most non-American cars and slushy auto trannies from days gone by contributed to this preference for stick shifts. Automatics have come a long way in the past decade or two in terms of responsiveness.
I remember my mother's old Plymouth Arrow (1976) that had a brake pedal and a loud pedal. We called the big one on the right the loud pedal because when you pushed down on it, the only change was that the car got louder. My friend had a Dodge Colt (same basic car) that had a stick and was much better to drive. I've had stick shifts ever since and never looked back. And I'll missing rowing my own if they ever go away completely.
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Karkus 1:09PM (2/15/2007)
I was sold on manuals for years - I didn't like the way automatics shifted and the reduced fuel economy. Then I got a Prius (with CVT-like behahior) and I'll never go back.
The Prius has no gears, no clutch, nothing you could consider a transmission, really. It's just has one plantary gearset. Those are also found in automatics, except that in the Prius there is only one and it's computer controlled to allow the two electric motors and the engine to interact in an almost infinite # of combinations to produce a SMOOTH driving and high efficiency. Plus the mechanical simplicity of it should make it last pretty much forever.
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Sam 10:47PM (2/15/2007)
Turbodiesels do much better than manuals than with automatics. That segment is certainly safe from CVT-ization.
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ksmith 12:51PM (2/16/2007)
Manuals are on their way out, but they won't disappear completely. First off, they are cheaper to produce than automatics, CVT's, DSG, etc. Second, they'll always find a home in true sports cars.
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jjs 8:25AM (2/18/2007)
Say it ain't so! I still love my manual tranny, even though I live in an area with horrendous traffic (and horrendous drivers)!
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