What happened to the manual transmission?
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Joined: Apr 2006
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From: Northern Virginia
I suspect you may be right about that. There may be a few MTs around in specialty cars, but in cars for the masses, probably not.
I drove nothing but MTs in every car I had from '72 to '93. My step-dad and my driver's ed instructor taught me how to drive manuals in the late '60's, and I loved driving the MTs.
However, finally big city congestion caught up with me, and I went to ATs in the mid-'90's, and haven't gone back. I like the tiptronic, use it every so often when I want the control of a manual, but in the Z, the automatic really does its stuff very well.
Most people who think they know how to drive manual really don't know how to do it all that well. A guy friend of mine has an Acura with a MT; was driving with his family the other day and his wife was driving the car. Ouch! She really didn't know what she was doing, but sure enough, she was "driving" the manual. Just not shifting at the right points is all - which is true of a LOT of folks who drive manuals.
It's a real skill. You can learn to function with an MT in a day or two, but it takes a lot more experience and knowledge to drive it well. Since driver's ed classes don't require it any more, it's a skill that fewer and fewer people have.
I drove nothing but MTs in every car I had from '72 to '93. My step-dad and my driver's ed instructor taught me how to drive manuals in the late '60's, and I loved driving the MTs.
However, finally big city congestion caught up with me, and I went to ATs in the mid-'90's, and haven't gone back. I like the tiptronic, use it every so often when I want the control of a manual, but in the Z, the automatic really does its stuff very well.
Most people who think they know how to drive manual really don't know how to do it all that well. A guy friend of mine has an Acura with a MT; was driving with his family the other day and his wife was driving the car. Ouch! She really didn't know what she was doing, but sure enough, she was "driving" the manual. Just not shifting at the right points is all - which is true of a LOT of folks who drive manuals.
It's a real skill. You can learn to function with an MT in a day or two, but it takes a lot more experience and knowledge to drive it well. Since driver's ed classes don't require it any more, it's a skill that fewer and fewer people have.
MT is far from being a dying breed. Everywhere else outside the US and Canada, MT rule.
AT's are extremely rare in Europe. And all the semi-auto boxes are very expensive.
I'm not worried for the future of the MT car.
AT's are extremely rare in Europe. And all the semi-auto boxes are very expensive.
I'm not worried for the future of the MT car.
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Joined: May 2006
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From: California
Originally Posted by Suvlaki
I wouldn't mind an MT-only Z... but I still prefer my AT. I've had my Z for over a year now and it has yet to get "boring" as most MT guys would say. I want a sports car that has both convinience of use in certain situations and ability to have fun with it and make it perform at its max.
Most MT guys think you just stick the Z in D and let it go. I do that when I'm lazy, that is why I bought my AT. But when I wanna have fun with it, it's always in manual mode. No... "jerkiness." Pretty much the same ****, jus' missing a clutch.
I don't need a clutch to make me feel like a man... I got ... other stuff to do that ;-). But I feel you should own your car the way you want it because after all, the car is for you and not for anyone else.
On a side note, I was talking to a friend of mine from Greece over the phone the other day and at one point, she said, "Damn you and your automatics for being able to talk to me over the phone AND drive! Not fair!"
Most MT guys think you just stick the Z in D and let it go. I do that when I'm lazy, that is why I bought my AT. But when I wanna have fun with it, it's always in manual mode. No... "jerkiness." Pretty much the same ****, jus' missing a clutch.
I don't need a clutch to make me feel like a man... I got ... other stuff to do that ;-). But I feel you should own your car the way you want it because after all, the car is for you and not for anyone else.
On a side note, I was talking to a friend of mine from Greece over the phone the other day and at one point, she said, "Damn you and your automatics for being able to talk to me over the phone AND drive! Not fair!"
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 7,337
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From: Edina, Minnesota
Originally Posted by JJ350
Amen to that! My point for buying a auto Z exactly. I just needed the practicality of a auto, and I liked the fun of the manual shift mode. Maybe it's because I just happened to find a used 06 GT Z (with the exact color combination I wanted, which I couldn't find new even if I wanted) for an amazing price. So the car was just too otherwise perfect to pass it up just over the transmission. Im much happier in the long run anyways, since I am thankful how I don't have to deal with a clutch every time I go through traffic.
--Spike
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Joined: May 2006
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From: New Zealand
Originally Posted by Morningglorie
However, finally big city congestion caught up with me, and haven't gone back. I like the tiptronic, use it every so often when I want the control of a manual, but in the Z, the automatic really does its stuff very well.
Most people who think they know how to drive manual really don't know how to do it all that well. A guy friend of mine has an Acura with a MT; was driving with his family the other day and his wife was driving the car. Ouch! She really didn't know what she was doing, but sure enough, she was "driving" the manual. Just not shifting at the right points is all - which is true of a LOT of folks who drive manuals.
It's a real skill. You can learn to function with an MT in a day or two, but it takes a lot more experience and knowledge to drive it well. Since driver's ed classes don't require it any more, it's a skill that fewer and fewer people have.
Most people who think they know how to drive manual really don't know how to do it all that well. A guy friend of mine has an Acura with a MT; was driving with his family the other day and his wife was driving the car. Ouch! She really didn't know what she was doing, but sure enough, she was "driving" the manual. Just not shifting at the right points is all - which is true of a LOT of folks who drive manuals.
It's a real skill. You can learn to function with an MT in a day or two, but it takes a lot more experience and knowledge to drive it well. Since driver's ed classes don't require it any more, it's a skill that fewer and fewer people have.
It just makes me cringe even walking along the street and hearing someone shifting badly. For all those that reckon you can't have sufficent control of the car because it's an auto, you just need to ride with someone who drives the car very well. I probably drive more cars a year by far than most people do, it's always an interesting experience, even more so if you're a co-pilot and someone is smashing the gears.
Originally Posted by trains1937
Are there any statistics from Nissan on how many 350Zs are sold with either AT or MT during any model year?
Anyone have a number on this?
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