CVT vs. Manual vs. Automatic?

[vinny1989]

Originally Posted by Nate

Haha, I never really thought of that, but I guess if you had maybe a sliding shifter that you slid all the way forward for a higher gear ratio and slid backward for a lower gear ratio, that would be feasible.

That is why i just voted for CVT. Gives such a wide range of ratio's, that you'll always find one perfect for your car, speed and engine rpm.

The only problem would be that you could easily lug the engine if you didn't lower the gear ratio appropriately.

You can do the same thing on a normal manual - 20mph in 5th gear.

[Ernie Rogers]

Wait a minute,

Where are options 4 and 5? (Cases with no transmission.)

4. EV with hub motors
5. EV with dual motors and controllers

Did I miss any others?

By the way, I have been driving manual cars for the last 60 years, wouldn't have anything else. My Beetle TDI has 201,000 miles and still has original everything--specifically, clutch plate and brake pads. (Oh, sure, I change out tires, timing belt and oil.)

Ernie Rogers

[cfg83]

RobertSmalls -

Originally Posted by RobertSmalls

I won't buy a car, no matter how good, unless it has a manual shift, manual clutch transmission. My heart sank when I heard the 2010 Insight would only be available with a CVT. Driving a stick keeps me thinking about what's going on under the hood, and that mindset keeps me focused on efficient driving.

Even so, I voted CVT in the poll. No, I can't name a car that gets better mileage with a CVT than with a manual, but it *ought* to be possible to build a CVT to accomplish this. The CVT would just have to be tuned for maximum FE, that's all.

...

Yeah, I'm a manual-fiend too. I voted manual. I do think that CVT may win in the future. Just not today.

CarloSW2