2003 Civic LX I just bought my daughter
 

A few weeks ago I bought my daughter a 2003 Civic LX 4door 5 speed manual. I've been driving it until she gets her license in about 3 weeks and am impressed by the mpg I got from simply doing a little bit of pulse and glide. I don't drive super slow either...She drives it when I'm in the car to and from her school and I'm driving it to work and other driving. I got 40MPG on the first full tank. No other mods.. Tires are at 35psi... not bad for a 1.7L!

Great mileage for not trying real hard :thumbup:
I wish I'd gotten a manual :(

I'm pretty sure if I were to mod it like I did my VX, I could easily break 50mpg and maybe as high as 55mpg.

Did your daughter expressed interest in learning how to drive manual spontaneously or did you have to influence her?

I didn’t give her a choice as I did the same for my other 4 children. They didn’t want a manual, but all changed their minds over time after learning.

"I don't want a manual!"
"You want a car?"
"Of course, but--"
"Congratulations! I bought you a car!"

If your daughter wanted something cute you knew would have too much maintenance, would you buy something more reliable instead?

I'm just tickled some new, young drivers are starting their driving career knowing manual operation from the outset.

It's one thing to go from the slightly more complex operation to more automatic, and another entirely to have to try to go the other direction, and precious few can do it or even bother to learn how.

I also didn't have a choice, since in my country not just manuals are by far more prevalent but I wouldn't be able to get the driving license test with an automatic (not even an automatic clutch as a cheating device :D). That "privilege" is reserved for disabled drivers, even though some driving schools still used to have cars with manual transmission adapted for disabled drivers (not so popular anymore, due to the increasing market share for automatics properly said and automated-manual transmissions, thus avoiding the increased cost of a clutch automation kit).

I don't want my kids to be limited in what vehicle they can purchase. A manual transmission is also far, far more reliable and difficult to burn up in the snow, mud, pulling a trailer etc... And... if you do manage to ruin the friction disc... very cheap to replace compared to an automatic transmission. I believe the U.S. market is dominated by automatics because we have more expendable income to fix them... much larger profits in maintenance and replacement. Perhaps people here are lazy as well, but the higher profits the industry makes is the main reason in my opinion.

That's a good point.


Though I'm not so sure about a manual being so much more reliable under heavy loads, the easier repairability is still a valuable asset, especially in a 3rd-world hell pit like Brazil :p or if one gets stranded in the middle of nowhere and the only mechanic readily available in the area is more familiarized with motorcycles and old farm tractors :D


Considering that some bus operators here in Brazil have replaced automatic transmissions with manuals, it makes sense too.


Lazyness may be a highly-contributing factor, but it's undeniable the marketing departments of the big-three have led to that.