It's official. Manual transmissions are making a comeback.

There are lots of great statistics at the Government CAFE web site.
Lots of compiled data on cars going back to 1977 (and some even
older.) One interesting trend tracked is the percentage of
automobiles with automatic transmissions.

In 1977, 84.1% of all new cars had AT. Under pressure of demands for
improved fuel economy and increasing consumer preference for import
cars, that number dropped to 75.0% in 1987. Then imports went
upscale, ATs became more sophisticated and fuel got cheap. By 2002,
88.5% of new cars had only two pedals and the imminent demise of the
manual transmission was widely predicted.

Then something funny happened. There were rumors of rebellion in the
ranks and increased reports of drivers demanding control of the gear
ratios. In 2003, the percentage of cars sold with automatics dropped
precipitously to 82.4%. The CAFE site is now reporting a further drop
in 2004 with the lowest percentage of AT's since 1991, 79.6%. That
means that the number of cars sold with manual transmissions increased
77% in only two years and a clutch is now found in one of every five
new cars.

In terms of sales, this trend actually surpasses the much touted
return of rear wheel drive and the movement is broad based. While
keeping in mind that the politics of fuel economy can skew the
definitions pretty badly, the trend is apparent in domestics, Asian
and European imports. All are selling manual transmissions at levels
that haven't been seen in a decade. Almost half of all European cars
are now shifters, the highest rate since 1988.

Will this be a long lasting trend or a brief flash? It is still too
early to tell but it certainly shows that the old MT is going to be
harder to kill than it once appeared. The auto companies have now
learned that there is a solid base of buyers who prefer to shift for
themselves and the increased availability of this option is sure to
follow.


http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/rules/cafe/NewPassengerCarFleet.htm

 

On the other hand, you can't have hybrid gas/electric with MT. It's
kind of a bummer because I like responsiveness of manuals but the
milage*power level is falling behind some automatics. Regenerative
braking, continuous gear ratios, ultra-lean burn, and cylinder bypassing
need to be coordinated with an AT. The decision was much more clear-cut
a few years ago when you chose between a peppy 5-speed manual or a
sluggish 3-speed automatic. Now cars like the Accord Hybrid make the
decision tough.

If we get fuel cells in marketable condition there may not be multiple
gears anymore. You'll just have a knob to select how much regenerative
braking you want when you take your foot off the throttle. Crank up
regenerative braking and you'd have lightning fast response to throttle
changes.

 

On the other hand, you can't have hybrid gas/electric with MT. It's
kind of a bummer because I like responsiveness of manuals but the
milage*power level is falling behind some automatics. Regenerative
braking, continuous gear ratios, ultra-lean burn, and cylinder bypassing
need to be coordinated with an AT. The decision was much more clear-cut
a few years ago when you chose between a peppy 5-speed manual or a
sluggish 3-speed automatic. Now cars like the Accord Hybrid make the
decision tough.

If we get fuel cells in marketable condition there may not be multiple
gears anymore. You'll just have a knob to select how much regenerative
braking you want when you take your foot off the throttle. Crank up
regenerative braking and you'd have lightning fast response to throttle
changes.

 

Sure you can. Both the Civic and Insight hybrid models are available
with MT. Accord hybrid comes only with AT for now, but you can get an
MT on your V6 Accord now so it isn't implausible that the hybrid may
get it eventually.

I think that it will be a long time before fuel cell cars are any more
than a curiosity.

 

Sure you can. Both the Civic and Insight hybrid models are available
with MT. Accord hybrid comes only with AT for now, but you can get an
MT on your V6 Accord now so it isn't implausible that the hybrid may
get it eventually.

I think that it will be a long time before fuel cell cars are any more
than a curiosity.

 

Well, now the trend is to have both manual and auto trannies on the same car
which is called million different names such as autostick, tiptronic,
easytronic, multimod manual, activeselect or whatever... and all range of
cars started to have this kind of transmission.. from cheap econobox such as
Toyota Yaris 1.0 liter to expensive cars like MB and BMW. I just bought a
1.2 liter Opel Corsa with Easytronic transmission. It has 5 forward gears
and you can shift the gears manualy if you want and it gets considerably
better gas mielage compared to the same car with stick shift (6.8 liters /
100 kms in city versus 7.8 liters / 100 kms in city driving).

Ahmet

Turkey

 

Well, now the trend is to have both manual and auto trannies on the same car
which is called million different names such as autostick, tiptronic,
easytronic, multimod manual, activeselect or whatever... and all range of
cars started to have this kind of transmission.. from cheap econobox such as
Toyota Yaris 1.0 liter to expensive cars like MB and BMW. I just bought a
1.2 liter Opel Corsa with Easytronic transmission. It has 5 forward gears
and you can shift the gears manualy if you want and it gets considerably
better gas mielage compared to the same car with stick shift (6.8 liters /
100 kms in city versus 7.8 liters / 100 kms in city driving).

Ahmet

Turkey

 

of course, i didn't mean that these cars have 2 transmissions...just one
with with the capabilities of both both manual and auto transmission...

ahmet

 

of course, i didn't mean that these cars have 2 transmissions...just one
with with the capabilities of both both manual and auto transmission...

ahmet

 

shhhhhhh......don't tell Honda, who sells them by the boatload with
manual transmissions.....

 

shhhhhhh......don't tell Honda, who sells them by the boatload with
manual transmissions.....

 

Yes, I wonder how they (NHTSA) are defining "manual". Some of the
ones you listed are typical torque converter ("slushboxes") where
they just add a manual shifting mode. Others have actual manual
trannies, just with an electronic clutch, ex: BMW's SMG. I
believe your "Easytronic" is the latter?

I wonder how many folk who buy the tiptronic type actually
manually shift. When I've driven those, I get tired of the
novelty in the first drive and just end out driving them like
every other automatic.

 

Yes, I wonder how they (NHTSA) are defining "manual". Some of the
ones you listed are typical torque converter ("slushboxes") where
they just add a manual shifting mode. Others have actual manual
trannies, just with an electronic clutch, ex: BMW's SMG. I
believe your "Easytronic" is the latter?

I wonder how many folk who buy the tiptronic type actually
manually shift. When I've driven those, I get tired of the
novelty in the first drive and just end out driving them like
every other automatic.

 

It's the Toyota system as used in the Prius and Ford Escape that can't have
a manual; in fact, it can't have any transmission at all. It has an
"electronic cvt" that is really just a pair of motor/generators in a
differential arrangement with the gas engine... there is no place to put a
transmission in the power train. If it were called a "virtual cvt" it would
be less confusing.

Honda's IMA (integrated motor assist) works fine with a manual; Toyotas SHS
(synergy hybrid system) could never have one, if only because the driver has
no control over whether the engine is even running.

Mike

 

It's the Toyota system as used in the Prius and Ford Escape that can't have
a manual; in fact, it can't have any transmission at all. It has an
"electronic cvt" that is really just a pair of motor/generators in a
differential arrangement with the gas engine... there is no place to put a
transmission in the power train. If it were called a "virtual cvt" it would
be less confusing.

Honda's IMA (integrated motor assist) works fine with a manual; Toyotas SHS
(synergy hybrid system) could never have one, if only because the driver has
no control over whether the engine is even running.

Mike

 

I wish they'd put a MT in the 4 door accord V6.

 

I wish they'd put a MT in the 4 door accord V6.

 

Well, I guess it depends on your definition of "transmission", but
I'd definitely say they have one! They have a set of planetary
gears (which automatic transmissions also use). And yes, as you
wrote, motor/generator is used to modify the gear ratio between
the ICE and the driveshaft, as well as supply torque.