I think people spend longer in cars here, though, too.i live in Belgium and slushboxes are probably less then 5% of the market, people just don't like them. I don't understand the stuck in traffic argument. I never heard someone complain here about his legs because of using a manual in traffic jams, must be an American thing i guess ....
I love manual transmissions.
I will never buy a car with automatic, unless it will be an electric car.
Edit: It is however a United States "thing". I think that it has something to do with an overall effort to make the US folks fat, lazy, stupid, and corn feed.
If a company had the balls to release a cheap preformance car in the vien of the older muscle cars, the gas mileage would be even more amazing, acceleration would be phenominal, and they wouldn't handle like pigs. Plus they wouldn't have brakes that sucked balls.
I actually don't think it has anything to do with fat, lazy, stupid, and cord fed. I love my manual transmissions, but I blame the lack of manuals on different factors:
1) We have cheap gas. While this is no longer the case, manuals historically resulted in better gas mileage which has been a sticking point in other parts of the world. Here, there has been no such pressure to get a manual over an automatic.
2) Automatics were marketed as "luxury" by detroit for many years. Talk to anyone in their 50-80's. There impression is that a Lincoln, Buick or Cadillac with a floaty suspension and smooth automatic transmission is the definition of luxury.
3) We have less fun roads to drive. Go drive B roads in England and then drive roads in most of America's Midwest. It is insanely boring (although beautiful) driving through most of America's roads...don't get me wrong...there are amazing roads in America...but most peoples daily grind is boring and traffic heavy. Even long trips are on boring (dynamically), low-speed highways. If the roads were more engaging, people would likely enjoy driving and appreciate their driving tools more.
4) Partially because of 3, most Americans look at cars as appliances. This obviously does not apply to most people reading a car forum...but if you go talk to random people you meet, all they want it something that gets them from A to B reliably...and looks "cool" doing it. They don't care about the mechanics of the vehicle or actual capabilities (only care about perceived capabilities...thus the Crossover).
1. Fine, then add wasteful to the list.
2. For a long time (up until just recently) automatics were: More expensive, less economical, and more difficult to fix (auto trans job STARTS at $1500.00 these days). As such auto transmissions were a no-no in other parts of the world.
If anyone could summarize the auto transmission tech of the 50s, 60s, and 70s, it very well COULD be a term of a wasteful technology for the lazy (aka "luxury").
3. The roads are no that much different from the roads in South America or Asia for example. Also, when you driving on a boring freeway with a manual, you just leave the top gear on and cruse. You don't have to do anything with manny tranny when drving at 70 mph for 2 hr straight. As a matter of fact, you can get even cruise control for the manual...
4. Ignorant society with money.
So, there is an active effort going on to make the US Society fat, lazy, stupid, wasteful, and ignorant...
P.S. I am an American and I love living in here, but "we" are not perfect.
P.S. 2 What amazes me even more is US auto "experts" telling the stories of the "fall of the manual transmission" while not realizing the fact that the rest of the world is happily stuck with the stick.
Just a question.....
But do any manual transmission drivers use cruise control?
fucking hypermiling with a perfomance car lolz.
Anyway. The current HIGH END automatics shift just like a manual with the clutch work being an electronic process and instantaneous. Most have more than one clutch to keep RPMS up.
Some of the best drivers on the track have basically signed off on this as the future and it's better.
The problem is even with those thinking they have higher end cars ($40-60k) you are not getting this state of the art deal in most.
I think the EVO X is up there in shifting ability....it was one of the EVO's anyway that some driver was really impressed with in the gear swapping dept.
Just a question.....
But do any manual transmission drivers use cruise control?
Yes...I do it in my truck all the time.
1. How is it wasteful exactly?
We have the ability to afford that "luxury."
And we had the money to pay for the expense and were willing to do so for the luxury.
I just find some humor in true manual transmission diehards that say that automatics are for the lazy and that they want more control and then go on to use cruise which essentially negates those arguements.
Cheap gas + a design that is not really efficient == Wasteful. Just because we have cheap gas doesn't mean that we have right to waste it on efficient technologies - which is apparently what we were doing in toe 50's, 60's, 70's, and 80's just because little 16 year old Marry Jo could not be bother with learning how to drive manual.
At 5 bucks a gallon because of the problems with supply you'll wish that all that gasoline that was wasted, was appreciated more and conserved more.
I just find some humor in true manual transmission diehards that say that automatics are for the lazy and that they want more control and then go on to use cruise which essentially negates those arguements.
Damn you...you caught me! I still am in the camp that it is not "laziness" that has turned American's toward automatics...but many other factors (as I stated in my post above). I do enjoy a manual oh so much more than an automatic...but If I'm cruising at 70MPH going down the highway in any car...I'm turning on the cruise. You're not driving anymore at that point...just steering.
If you are driving 3hr straight on a freeway from Wisconsin to Minnesota, there is not much to control and in that case, cruise control == useful even for diehard fans of manual, however you can ALWAYS disengage it.