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Ask a Tim
Finally an answer to all your questions about everything. Not only an answer, but an answer from a Tim! E-mail all questions to AskingTim@Gmail.com or by clicking on the link on the left hand menu bar titled "Get your questions answered" and leaving a comment! I will reply (if I can) as soon as possible!
Friday, March 24, 2006
Stick shifts and Safety Belts ... have all got to go!
Dear Tim,
Do you think cars with stick shifts will eventually be phased out in favor of automatics? I ask only because I know nothing about cars and I always assumed that when cars were first invented they were stick shifts and then they were upgraded to automatics to be more convenient. Personally I wouldn't want stick shifts to become a thing of the past because they're speedy and fun to drive (except in San Francisco).
Dear Anne,
I personally think that standard transmissions will eventually be phased out, but not for a long time to come.
I myself enjoy a standard transmission, as do most people who are absolutely nuts about cars. A standard transmission can reduce gas mileage, increase power to the engine, and reduce wear and tear on brake pads by using it to help slow the car. Some people are so fanatical about them that I doubt it will be anytime soon that we are without that choice.
When I first read your question, I thought it would be sooner rather than later, as I didn't know if hybrid cars are available in standard. Since Hybrids definately are the "wave of the future" their availbility in standard would determine the fate of the stick shift. But after some quick research I found that Honda offers a couple of models in standard, so it will live on to see another day.
So while we will most likely see standards through our lifetime, there could come a day when the standard has gone the way of the dodo, perhaps for your children, or their children.
One of the main things that could cause this would be to create a new type of engine that is no longer internal combustion. Once the day of the solplasmic (solor/plasma/electric) engine run car, the stick shift will fade into the past. But until the day of that engine named the word I just made up, we should still see the standard transmission on the plate.
And you are right, a stick shift if both fun and speedy to drive...
Do you think cars with stick shifts will eventually be phased out in favor of automatics? I ask only because I know nothing about cars and I always assumed that when cars were first invented they were stick shifts and then they were upgraded to automatics to be more convenient. Personally I wouldn't want stick shifts to become a thing of the past because they're speedy and fun to drive (except in San Francisco).
-Anne
Dear Anne,
I personally think that standard transmissions will eventually be phased out, but not for a long time to come.
I myself enjoy a standard transmission, as do most people who are absolutely nuts about cars. A standard transmission can reduce gas mileage, increase power to the engine, and reduce wear and tear on brake pads by using it to help slow the car. Some people are so fanatical about them that I doubt it will be anytime soon that we are without that choice.
When I first read your question, I thought it would be sooner rather than later, as I didn't know if hybrid cars are available in standard. Since Hybrids definately are the "wave of the future" their availbility in standard would determine the fate of the stick shift. But after some quick research I found that Honda offers a couple of models in standard, so it will live on to see another day.
So while we will most likely see standards through our lifetime, there could come a day when the standard has gone the way of the dodo, perhaps for your children, or their children.
One of the main things that could cause this would be to create a new type of engine that is no longer internal combustion. Once the day of the solplasmic (solor/plasma/electric) engine run car, the stick shift will fade into the past. But until the day of that engine named the word I just made up, we should still see the standard transmission on the plate.
And you are right, a stick shift if both fun and speedy to drive...
(except in San Francisco)
