Nissan 370Z Forum - Interesting Article on AOL Autos...

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- - Interesting Article on AOL Autos... (http://www.the370z.com/nissan-370z-general-discussions/15205-interesting-article-aol-autos.html)

Hello, my name is Blackflag, and I'm in love with manual transmission cars.

Is that wrong of me..?

damn kids these days and their teleporters...when i was their age we drove "cars" to get around and in these "cars" we had to "shift" through "gears" using a "stick" and a "clutch"...those were the days...

And we drove on winding roads...uphill both ways.

And we liked it!

Quote:

Originally Posted by fullmonty (Post 422760)

You know what you're right though. Not that many people know how to drive stick, its why the US military stopped getting HUMVEEs and what not in stick shift

Yes, in the US but certainly not on other parts of the world. Only 10 years ago 9 out of 10 would drive a manual in most European countries. The past decade, however, auto transmissions have become a lot more popular here but in many countries you'll certainly not be handed a driver's license unless you did all your test driving in a manual.

We all have to realize and admit that sports car owners are the minority. We just don't commute -- we drive and love every minute of it. And the manual tranny is a prerequisite to our cars.

I always smile when used sports cars are selling for less and taking a bit longer to sell than auto or tiptronic.

whenever i walk somewhere i look in the parked cars and count how many MT's there are. Usually i get about 2 in 50 cars i walk by. and they're usually a POS that was probably just cheaper in a manual. not necessarily b/c they wanted a stick.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bluemax (Post 423365)

Go back 3 years and the majority of 73 vettes were manual. Same with the 94-96 GTO most were 6speeds. The 4th gen F-bodies had such a demand for 6speeds that in Oct. of 94 when I ordered a Trans Am they said it would take 6 months to get it, so I went with the automatic it was boring so I sold it after 3 year lease and bought a 6speed WS6 T/A, much more car. Oh yea my 94 took 3 months to arrive, a couple order a 6 speed formula the exact same day, they didn't get their car till June.

Sorry but your observation is incorrect.
1973 vette production numbers: auto - 17,927, manual - 3,704. Wow, not popular at all imo. Reference: vettefacts.com

The reason why manuals in later years were hard to get was because most were buying autos. Some popularity returned in later years but autos were the tranny of choice. Maybe people are too lazy to deal with a clutch. But enthusiasts prefer manuals. However, faster shifting autos and wheel paddles are catching on in popularity. I'm a die hard manual guy but the tides may be turning towards auto.

Trivia: The '82 vette only came with an auto.:shakes head: Now that says something for the time.:tiphat:

Funny because I'm currently buying a 370Z (I'm french), and the AT is actually an option that cost 2300 euros (3140$)... the question of "do you want a auto transmission" when you buy a car came in France only 5-6 years ago... It's a cultural thing, we don't have huuuuuge long highway to cruise on (even our president is small...), cars here don't have huge engines and basically, at always suffered a bad reputation (fuel consumption, slow down ad uses the engine). Still today, when you takes driving lessons, it's ALWAYS on a manual gearbox.

Even the AT 350z wasn't available in France...

But I tried the auto transmission Z, and that's what I want ! Especially since there is the possibility to use the semi-auto and roar the engine as much as you want !