All hail the Unimog!

As a classically trained driver I’ve found automatics make people drive worse because they have to think less. And they already barely think.

US: predominantly automatic transmission, low speed limits

Germany: predominantly manual transmission, higher speed limits and no limits on around half of autobahns (motorways)

US road deaths per capita twice of Germany.

Draw your own conclusions.

It’s been difficult to find manual transmisssions for a couple of decades here in the US. That ship has sailed.

While most of my life I vowed my kids would learn manual, I gave up on that idea because

• manual transmission cars are rare and disappearing
• automatics now are more fuel efficient
• CVT are reliable and even more efficient
• EVs don’t shift

My kids started driving in a world of automatics and will soon be in a world with no transmissions

• Wanted to Start on a Steep Hill? We had a Tool for that: it was Called "Flooring the Gas while letting go off the Clutch"

IT AIN'T NO GOOD MORNIN' WITHOUT THE SMELL OF NICELY BURNED CLUTCH

You guys do realize this is supposed to be a parody of boomer bullshit arguments right?

Daddy needs his coffee.

Seriously, the automatic is so much better for using a truck as a tool. I still drive a stick right now and I'm lucky I miss rush hour most days because we start and end early, one job site.

I'd never choose a manual for dealing with taking tools and materials around the Metro while the assholes I'm trying to service cut me off in stop and go traffic.

And IMO we need to start racing EVs, leave combustion for the 20th century old timer events

oshit I have been bamboozled by a shitpost

Oh good I got here before the lemmy fuck cars brigade showed up

My Volkswagen flashes a message when I put the key in the ignition; "Depress clutch to start"

So I tell it that the majority of Yanks don't know how to use it and it starts every time.

Big oil forced that shit onto you instead of going the far superior EV route from the beginning. Now EVs are finally taking over and I'm happy my kids never have to get fuel grease on their hands and suffer those nasty fumes at gas stations. Shifters were needed for an inferior technology to work. I liked it as an experience when I learned to drive. But cars are mostly transport due to failure of better public transport infrastructure. I don't care whether they're fun. I drive for fun on the Xbox or maybe in a GoKart every few years.

Oh that felt good to rant.

Manuals are infinitely more fun to drive and I like to manipulate the performance characteristics of the car myself but they're probably going extinct to EV which is fine.

Manual is hell for people with back or knee issues.

You're like a solid 20 years behind here bud, they don't even offer manual transmissions on high end luxury cars. People don't buy them. I get it, I miss having manual cars, and it's not as hard as people always complained, I could teach a dog to drive manual over the phone, it's really not hard.

i miss my stick

The perfect transmission UI was the Teletouch on the Ford Edsel. And if anyone tries to argue I'll say "nuh uh," run away, and cry.

Electric cars have no transmission. If you buy electric, there are no stick shifts because electric cars only have one gear (with very few exceptions, and even then you'd just have 2 gears.)

Idk how this plays into the joke, but it's a neat fact.

Lol that handbrake start is utterly useless if you live anywhere that's actually hilly all over.

You've got to learn the proper clutchwork from the very start or you'll be taking years on every hill.

Unless you're starting from a cold start on a hill without ABS, I guess it could a safety precaution.

As someone that literally spent 25 years driving a manual, including various stints in racing. Manuals have seen their day.

It used to be if you wanted better mileage, you drove a manual. If you wanted to be faster on the track, drive a manual (caveat there is drag racing.)

Today? The computer is just better at controlling a transmission. I drive a Camry Hybrid now and not having shifts is REALLY weird and the drone getting up to highway speeds is annoying, but I do like the 45mpg. Not to mention, when I sat down to learn how the Toyota Hybrid Drive works... It's a pretty clever system.

There are a lot of times that nostalgia gets the better of me and I wish I had a car with a manual. My oldest is possibly joining a skating team that is a 2 hour drive away. It's tempting to let him use my car and then buy an older manual for myself as a toy. I'd love to get a hold of another mid-80's Corolla GT-S. I autocrossed one back in the late 80's early 90's. It still remains my favorite car I've ever owned.