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Old 07-29-2020, 11:29 PM   #23 (permalink)
cRiPpLe_rOoStEr
It's all about Diesel
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jcp123 View Post
Of course it isn’t only laziness, but 99% of the market is also not physically hindered as you are. When a manual is a genuine hardship, of course I won’t judge someone for choosing an automatic.
Last time I drove was in March 2019 because my father wanted to take a break during a trip, and it was a car with manual transmission. He often complains about a lack of precision from the clutch pedal, but I'm sure my knees would've sense if there was an actual lack of precision. I don't really refuse to drive manuals at any cost, I would just prefer to arrange for another clutch input interface.

On a sidenote, I have already seen some cars adapted for paraplegic drivers with manual transmission and a single control for the 3 pedals (press down for clutch, pull for brakes and twist the grip for throttle). For me the least concerning is the throttle, but even in an automatic a hard braking might be too much for my knees at the moment. In a recent MRI scan, a few cysts appeared on both knees.


Quote:
But 99% of the American population isn’t physically hindered, so I really do think it is a symptom of the generally lazy attitude towards driving in this country.
Well, there is some cultural influence. I remember when I was 14, talking to other boys at school, and we were talking about learning to drive. I didn't have any driving experience with automatics at that time, but the richest boy of the class questioned me if I drove only automatics or if I "really" knew how to drive, and another boy said automatics were "gay", to which I pointed out the prevalence of automatics in American cars with oversized engines (often also seen as a manly feature) as a counterpoint to his claim against automatics. Americans in general tended to not be so fond on manuals even before automatics became mainstream, no wonder so many landyachts had low-end torque to spare allowing to take-off on top gear.


Quote:
People don’t take it that seriously, so they like the appliance factor of an automatic. If folks took it as seriously as gun owners here do about procedural safety, or artisans do about crafting good products, I would bet we would still have a 10-25% market share of manuals here.
Japan takes everything seriously, and AFAIK the pick rate for automatics is even higher than in the United States.
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