GM Manual Transmissions - Who would have thought?

[Palmtree]

> We have a low mileage 2015 GTI with a manual transmission and plan on keeping it until it dies. It's far from dying though and a real fun car to drive around. T

Good for you. In my younger days I had one of the original Volkswagen GTI's with golf ball stick and Pirelli P6 tires that stuck to the pavement like glue. It was an absoute blast to drive and I miss it to this day.

 

[RunningBum]

Good for you. In my younger days I had one of the original Volkswagen GTI's with golf ball stick and Pirelli P6 tires that stuck to the pavement like glue. It was an absoute blast to drive and I miss it to this day.

I had an 84 GTI and it was awesome. Then I met my future ex-wife and she found the seats uncomfortable so I only had it for a couple of years.

 

[jazz4cash]

This is a trend that has been ongoing for decades. I worked on automatics but in 1999 a GM Chief Engineer told me that manuals were 15% of the sales for medium and heavy duty pickups. It made sense for fleet customers buying hundreds of vehicles. Back in the day the automatics used moee fuel but they have become much more efficient. A great driver might get better mpg with a manual but the average driver will not Eventually they ran out of drivers that could drive a manual period.
I remember a story about Ford losing it’s biggest customet because they discontinued a delete A/C option on their pickup trucks. Every mfr really just wants to build everything the same (remember any color as long as it’s black?-Henry Ford). The cost to customize gets very impactful very fast.

 

[m3bs]

Manual transmissions to carmakers are like copper land lines for AT&T. They really wish you would just quit using them. When they can control the engine and transmission together using the computer(s) it’s much easier for them to manage emissions and fuel economy, without having to program for unpredictable driver inputs. On newer BMWs, the manual is an extra cost item over the standard auto.

I have two manual cars now, a GR Corolla (3 cylinders, 300 HP) and a Porsche GT4. If either had been available with the auto I would have chosen it for enhanced performance. Automatics have come a long way.

 

[Midpack]

We both preferred manual transmissions until they became so rare. DW had a Nissan Maxima with a manual transmissions, very uncommon.

But manual transmissions could shift faster than an automatic for many years. Once automatics were able to out shift a manual, even Porsche dropped manuals for the most part. Today’s automatics can shift much faster than any human. Even Formula 1 cars don’t have clutch pedals anymore…

The driver flicks the paddle, and the ECU cuts the ignition. The clutch is depressed electronically and switches ratios. Since the introduction of seamless-shift gearboxes, that all happens in 0.005s...

 

[audreyh1]

Manual transmissions to carmakers are like copper land lines for AT&T. They really wish you would just quit using them. When they can control the engine and transmission together using the computer(s) it’s much easier for them to manage emissions and fuel economy, without having to program for unpredictable driver inputs. On newer BMWs, the manual is an extra cost item over the standard auto.

I have two manual cars now, a GR Corolla (3 cylinders, 300 HP) and a Porsche GT4. If either had been available with the auto I would have chosen it for enhanced performance. Automatics have come a long way.

Except for the European car market where they stubbornly stick to manual transmissions for non-hybrid ICE cars. I think because they’ve traditionally been a bit cheaper.

 

[skyking1]

Wow, I guess your wife takes her grocery shopping seriously if she wants a diesel truck for the grocery store.

it was more of a measure of her comfort in a parking lot with an unfamiliar rig with a clutch.
When we go camping, she will want to find the quilt stores when I get the trailer set up.
It does not move unless there is a job to do.

 

[Car-Guy]

I drove big rigs for two summers while I was in school (in my early 20's) with as many as 18 forward gears and many had split axles with a separate gear shifter, so I don't have an issue driving manual transmissions. I just prefer auto's these days especially in my sports vehicles, mainly for the better performance. I have a dual clutch 8 speed auto in my current truck and love it. If I want to drive in a manual mode, I can engage the paddle or even the console shifter, which I rarely do.

EDIT: Just remembered, with big rig diesel trucks I didn't manually engaged the clutch unless I was coming to a full stop or starting from a full stop. Called gear/rpm syncing or floating. At one time I got pretty good at shifting a manual transmission in my car's without using the clutch too.

 

[aja8888]

I love this thread....brings back many memories of my past cars. Up until a few years ago, I drove manuals and here is a list from memory of some of my cars and trucks with manual transmissions:

This will age me for sure:

1941 Plymouth (4 dr)- bought not running for $50. Flathead 6 with 3 speed manual. An absolute dog of a car, but what back seat...theater size. My first real girlfriend loved this old bomb.

1947 Plymouth (4 dr) - Same a s above but was running when I bought it for $100 in 1963.

1951 Chevrolet (4 dr) - bought out of a junkyard for $35 - not running and needed a nose. Fixed it up, drove it, and sold it quickly. Real crappy car.

1955 Chevrolet 2 dr sedan - Old Connecticut Light and Power car with high miles. Bought out of an auction for $150 (?) and burned oil like crazy. Took out the 6 cylinder and installed a 265 cubic inch V8 with two fours and Vette heads. Ran like a wild man in heat. Drank gasoline and went through the tires pretty fast!

Got my draft notice in 1964 and the fun ended.

1968 SS 396, 2 dr HT, four speed - Out of military car (bought new for $3,000). Made my 55 Chev look like an old ladies Sunday car. Got in a wreck within 6 months of ownership and it was gone.

1959 Chevrolet Pickup - Bought non-running with a hole in a piston for ~$250. Installed big V8 and redid the body. Crazy truck. Pulled out trees with this thing. Gave it to my dad in 1970.

Went back to college and drove a 1968 MGB roadster 4 speed (or 5?). Also had a Harley Sportster and a BSA Lightning motorcycle for a while. All manuals.

Had a few old VWs (all manuals) during this time and bought them to fix and flip.

Graduated college and bought a 1965 Corvette Stingray roadster with a 327, 365 HP V8, 4 speed Muncie transmission. Car was Glen Green with white leather interior. A real machine....hang on, close your eyes, say a prayer.

1980's on were mostly VW's with manuals and a couple of stick shift trucks. I also had a late model VW with a DSG and paddle shifters.

Now it's electric......

 

[Sue J]

I learned to drive a stick shift in my boyfriend's father's Fiat 850. Then my first car was a 1971 VW Beetle. I can still remember/feel/hear that whole process of listening for the gears and clutching and shifting. I loved it!

After that VW I had a Renault Le Car and a Subaru Justy that were stick shift. I found it all very easy, never a problem.

My current car is a Toyota Corolla and it has the CVT. Then there is the option to go manual and use the shifter to go up or down in gears or use the optional paddle shifters. What a joke! I bought this car used in 2017 and used the paddle shifters once just to try it out. I never would have looked for this is in a car but this one came with it.

Yeah, I feel all macho in my Corolla!

 

[Sunset]

A manual transmission can be fun, but I didn't mind losing manual steering, manual windows, manual door locks, manual spark advance, or manual engine starting (I never actually had the last two).

Back in ~1990 I had a Lada, genuine Russian one, with the Russian wording on all the dials and instruments.
Bought it cheap off a Army fellow that had shipped it back as shipping household goods back was free to him (so bring everything).

It was incredibly manual, even had a crank handle in the trunk for the crank hole in the bumper (hidden under rubber strip) to turn over the engine, like it was 1920.

While I was tempted to do so, I didn't try it as I feared breaking my wrist/arm upon it starting.

It was manual gears, and was a ton of fun to drive.

 

[Yipper]

We've traveled to European countries many times and even as recently as September, rental cars are still mostly manual transmissions (Scotland). In fact I've found that automatics are typically priced a bit higher for the same class of vehicle even if you can fine one available.

I think it's fun to convince the rental people that yes, someone from the USA can actually drive stick - AND when shifting using the left hand and using the clutch with the left foot.

 

[bjorn2bwild]

..........I like the mechanical simplicity, better engine cooling, durability with the beefier gears and positive engine braking when descending in the mountains........

I left out one of my favorites -
The ability to push or 'bump start' when the vehicle is favorably positioned. Try that with auto trans.
Saved my bacon more than once during our back country travels.

 

[Andre1969]

I left out one of my favorites -
The ability to push or 'bump start' when the vehicle is favorably positioned. Try that with auto trans.
Saved my bacon more that once during our back country travels.

Go back far enough, and automatics were able to do that. However, I think you had to get them up to around 11 mph in order to do that. Chrysler Torqueflites could do that, from '57 until whenever they relocated the pump from the rear of the unit. I imagine the old Powerflite could, too. I think the old 4-speed GM hydramatic, which was phased out around '64, could do that as well, dunno about the Powerglide. I'd imagine some Ford transmissions could, as well.

But yeah, manuals are a lot easier. A few years back, I helped to push start a guy who had a manual transmission Maxima. It died when he pulled out of a parking spot and wouldn't restart, because his battery was shot. I got behind him and gave him a shove, and he started with no issue. And that was just me using my body to push it, no car.

 

[skyking1]

We've traveled to European countries many times and even as recently as September, rental cars are still mostly manual transmissions (Scotland). In fact I've found that automatics are typically priced a bit higher for the same class of vehicle even if you can fine one available.

I think it's fun to convince the rental people that yes, someone from the USA can actually drive stick - AND when shifting using the left hand and using the clutch with the left foot.

We had that experience, the rental car was a diesel Ford Mondeo with a six-speed manual.
We just called it the Mondo.

 

[ArmchairMillionaire23]

Manual transmissions to carmakers are like copper land lines for AT&T. They really wish you would just quit using them. When they can control the engine and transmission together using the computer(s) it’s much easier for them to manage emissions and fuel economy, without having to program for unpredictable driver inputs. On newer BMWs, the manual is an extra cost item over the standard auto.

I have two manual cars now, a GR Corolla (3 cylinders, 300 HP) and a Porsche GT4. If either had been available with the auto I would have chosen it for enhanced performance. Automatics have come a long way.

Oddly enough, only 2 of our 6 vehicles have a clutch pedal. But 4 out of our 5 phones are rotary-dial and all 5 of them are connected to the world via copper lines. We have one cordless push-button phone for those times we have to press one for English, etc.
Our newest car (2024 Trax) has a 6-speed automatic, but at least it doesn't have a CVT.

 

[Out-to-Lunch]

I do have a Chevy (well, Tremec) manual transmission. It is resting comfortably in my BMW 323.

 

[skyking1]

I do have a Chevy (well, Tremec) manual transmission. It is resting comfortably in my BMW 323.

I rebuilt my Ram truck in the winter of 2016, and the diesel Beetle with the manual hauled the G56 6 speed from the truck to meet with the overhauler.

 

[Out-to-Lunch]

I rebuilt my Ram truck in the winter of 2016, and the diesel Beetle with the manual hauled the G56 6 speed from the truck to meet with the overhauler.

Interesting!

In my case, the T56 is located in the transmission tunnel, between the LS1 up front and a driveshaft connecting to the BMW rear end.

 

[skyking1]

I knew what you were up to, but it was the play on words. LS-1 fixes everything!

The G56 is about 200 pounds, and it handles the 800 Ft/Lb of torque from the Cummins just fine.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

I think that automatics are a better fit with turbocharged direct-injection engines than manual transmissions are. I was a surprised to see Ford offer a manual with the Bronco, but note that it's a seven-speed manual. I suspect that some dedicated manual fans would eventually get tired of rowing through that range.

My Ranger has the 10-speed 10R80 automatic which is also offered in the Bronco, I believe. I know it has some detractors, and my plan is to overmaintain it, but I'm turning about 2100 rpm at 80 mph on the interstate. It's nice to see my little engine laze along at that speed.

 

[GaryInCO]

I got my parents’ hand-me-down 1966 Chevy Impala in 1972 when I turned 16, and that’s the only auto-trans car I ever owned. Within a year I bought my brother’s ’66 Impala (much sportier, including 3-on-the-tree), and that was followed by a Fiat 850, a 1980 Toyota Tercel, and a 36-year-long parade of Saabs: 900T, 900, 900T, 9000, and a 9-5 Aero. After driving the Aero for 20 years (loved that car!) I replaced it with a Tesla Model Y. I doubt I’ll ever own another automatic. I do kinda miss the manual shifter, though…

 

[38Chevy454]

Speaking about big trucks (18 wheeler type), they are becoming much more popular with automated manual or regular automatic transmissions now. Automated manual being where the computer does all the clutch and shifting on a manual transmission. There is no clutch pedal in the cab for the driver, the computer does all of the work including the shifting between gears. There are also heavy duty traditional style automatic trans with a torque converter (Allison is manufacturer) that are also used in the big trucks. The Allison are heavier duty versions than what is used in the diesel pickups. Several states now have designated class A drivers license where it may have a restriction for auto trans only, for drivers that can;t drive manual trans big trucks.

 

[skyking1]

^ The AMT transmissions are now standard on the over the road trucking, due to about 8% better fuel economy than a manual transmission with hand rowed gears. 8% is huge!
My work truck is a 1992, I don't even have antilock brakes. Those of us in the construction side will still be rowing gears for a while.
This was one of my work rigs in Seattle, a 28 ton boom truck on a 2006 Kenworth. We are putting up glass on a new sky bridge install at Expedia.

Same crane doing the lobby glass and skylight steel at Overlake Hospital in Bellevue.

I drove Optimus Prime across the country and back ~20 years ago. Same exact paint scheme. He did not misbehave.

Current setup.

 

[jazz4cash]

^ The AMT transmissions are now standard on the over the road trucking, due to about 8% better fuel economy than a manual transmission with hand rowed gears. 8% is huge!
My work truck is a 1992, I don't even have antilock brakes. Those of us in the construction side will still be rowing gears for a while.

[]

Here on the East cost, fully automatic transmissions have really caught on in construction vocations. . Some reluctant customers only switched after trying an AMT. Traffic congestion and driver retention are huge incentives, fuel economy is a wash and productivity is a huge advantage.