Last of their kind? Manual Transmissions and Gasoline Engines

I'll convert over to CNG or LPG before I go to an Electric.

Just can't fathom the rational for such a power source on a vehicle.

 

Just curious how old are you?

 

Age is no matter. I'm old enough to know better, but too young to quit.

Electric is generated by primarily burning coal or nat gas. The "Green" people are just displacing the pollution source and pretending they are "saving the planet". Lets not forget the process of mining the materials and manufacturing a battery plus disposal of spent batteries.

Performance wise, yes, batteries are improving. But they are severely hampered by temperature. How well do electric cars operate in -25F????
Range will always be a problem. Sure, they make sense in city......long haul distance not so much.

Batteries are HEAVY. Fuel will always have more energy per pound than electric. 100 lbs of battery won't hold as much energy as 100 lbs of E10.

Safety wise.....these energy dense batteries have a narrow charging window. Also, those folks that like add-on lights.....shorts can be much worse than just blowing a fuse. The batteries like to ignite. Then they can sustain their own fire. Must be smothered with sand, much like a magnesium fire.

Sorry, I'm not on the Marketing, Political bandwagon for electric vehicles. I was in the Li-ion battery industry, I know the limits and risks.

 

and yet you don't....

 

And where is this supply going to come from? Coal? Nuclear? Natural gas? There isn't just an abundance of unused resources. Who is going to pay for the massive infrastructure needed? Not just talking the US, but just look to our neighbors to the south. You switch all vehicles to electric, you really think they could adapt? How about India? Have you ever traveled outside the US? Electricity is a luxury.

If I want fun, I jump in my 72 Chavelle and roll the windows up and down. It is a blast! Get this, you turn it one direction the windows go up, you turn the crank the other direction and they go down. Whooo hooo, what a thrill! Sometimes when it is cold, I pull the choke to start it!!! Then when it warms up, I push it back. Can you believe you can't get a manual choke anymore? I would buy the first car that rolled off the line if they brought that back. At least we can be thankful that we still have manual seats. Could you imagine if there was a button that moved our seats into different positions? Yep gramps, they just don't build 'em like the used to.

 

I am old enough to remember when people thought cellular phones were a joke. They were as big as bread loaves. Now look at them.

I would not bet against our ability to innovate. Let's see what is possible and available in just the next five years.

Only one bone to pick. The green people are not just displacing the pollution source. Many of them talk about an end to end renewable energy chain. If we don't get there the Germans or the Chinese will.

I do agree with you, however, the entire lifecycle of the battery is a huge problem that needs a lot of work.

Maybe not the next car that we buy but the one after that will be very different from what we are used to today.

 

I'm just happy Nissan didn't put a CVT in it

 

Your brain would just explode trying to wrap around why someone like me would demand power windows and seats (with heaters), car play, all the driver tech, cameras, AND a manual transmission. Wouldn't want it any other way. Maybe there's more to it than you think? Maybe you are trying to make correlations using faulty logic? Penguins can't fly. I can't fly. I must be a penguin.

 

Well said!

 

LOL take a look at your username......it'll come from THE SUN

 

Mine was the 2.5L before the Skyactiv engines were introduced. It had plenty of power, my 8yr old always told me to slow down. I've always called it slow because it was the first car I've owned that I never got a speeding ticket in.

EV's are benefitting from the money startups and investors are throwing at them. Even if Bollinger and Rivian fail, (and I hope they don't), the pressure they've applied to traditional automakers is so valuable.

 

Hahaha! My girls used to yell 'Weeeee!' through the corners. Now, my younger daughter somehow gets car sick easily.

The Taco is my first no-ticket vehicle. Well, I didn't get any with the Ural, but that is self-explanatory.


Exactly. Some folks are bagging on Tesla for only making a profit by selling energy credits. I think they moved the ball quite far for both automakers and government planners.

 

When steam powered trains were introduced they said passengers wouldn't be able to survive the forces of riding at speeds over 25 mph. They did.

They laughed at the thought of gasoline powered vehicles replacing horse drawn carriages. They did.

Electric powered cars using either batteries or fuel cells will replace gasoline in my lifetime and I'm 63. There will be growing pains and it won't be perfect at 1st, but it will eventually be better than what we are doing now.

Manual transmissions have had ZERO advantages over automatics for about 20 years now. No practical reason to own one.

 

bUt ThEy GeT bEtTeR gAs MiLeAgE

 

Wow. You had me until that last line.

Zero is an oversimplification. There are several advantages and disadvantages. Not worth arguing about though.

 

It's Friday. Everything is worth arguing about

 

I'm no civil engineer or automotive mastermind, but it sure feels like there are about 1,000 other, more significant factors to consider before this.

Not that it matters to me. Regardless of what's accurate, I would never, ever, ever, put myself in a position where shift speed pisses anyone off. That sounds like absolute hell.

You're wrong. It's absolutely not worth arguing about and I will die on this hill!

 

True, but I'm kinda done yelling into the void.

Civil persuasive debate has been dead for far too long.