The 'Death Of The Stick Shift' Is Almost Here For Americans

Heat84 · 2026-07-25T00:54:59+00:00

https://m.slashdot.org/story/456332 I’ve never driven stick myself. I’ve never needed one. I’m neither a race car driver nor a trucker and I live in South Florida. The only hills here are overpasses. Does a stick get better MPG’s? My sister is one of the weirdo Americans who prefers a stick. Although she hasn’t driven one in 10 or 15 years. I didn’t realize Mustangs were only stick. I don’t understand how there are automatic semi tractors. In some of the situations I’ve seen them in, I don’t know how you can use an automatic transmission. Maybe it’s only for local hauling? Are truckers ashamed to drive a tractor with an automatic transmission? Is it like a male biker riding in the bitch seat? Here’s a comment from the article. Is that how the automatic transmission in a tractor works that enables it to work as good as a stick?: It’s more than that. Modern automatics are equivalent. You can use the controls to switch into manual mode and then push the knob up and down to manually shift. All that we lost is having to use a clutch. I’m been driving manuals for 40 years. I’ve tried the modern automatic’s manual mode. I find it to be functionally equivalent, it solves the same problem, it allows me to fine tune things. This personal appraisal was immediately apparent from the first couple rentals or loaners that had automatics with a manual mode. Do you Canadians say manual transmission instead of stick?

InternetJeff

robxr4ti the issue with voice control (at least for Toyota’s) is that it can’t tell the difference between talking to the car systems vs Android auto. They don’t seem to play well together.

I don’t connect my phone to my car, so those phone apps don’t apply to me. However, I do have my Alexa account connected, and the car appears to be smart enough to figure out whether I’m issuing a command to control something in the car or asking for information from Alexa. For either I just push the same button on the steering wheel and speak. If it can figure out that context it should be able to figure out contact for mobile phone apps (Android auto or Apple Carplay).

InternetJeff

taraf As if them upcharging for working turn signals wasn’t bad enough, now they do this?

Is that a real thing (citation?).

ugly95

robxr4ti Stick shift has been shown it has caused drivers to be MORE engaged in their driving not distracted.

And if it is the case that manual transmission is less distracting than automatic, then the same logic still applies because one is more distracting than the other. You ignored the overall issue that two types of transmissions result in two different levels of distraction/attentiveness. If you are attempting to be consistent then you should want to ban automatic transmissions because they result in less attentive drivers than manual transmissions and an automatic transmission isn’t ‘needed’.

robxr4ti he analogy I was using is that if it takes a significant effort to use the touch screen menus (and it does) they should be treated as being unnecessarily distracting much like cell phones. Neither are needed in cars yet they are there. Consistency counts.

You always like to make comments about ‘consistency’ but your argument is totally arbitrary. You’re picking one thing that is distracting, without identifying how much more distracting it is or how it relates to operating the vehicle, while ignoring all other actions that are also distracting.

Donoreo

robxr4ti he issue with voice control (at least for Toyota’s) is that it can’t tell the difference between talking to the car systems vs Android auto. They don’t seem to play well together.

Works perfectly on my Lexus which uses the same system.

robxr4ti

ugly95 I see no reason for your apparent hostile tone. What I said is correct and not “arbitrary”. Touch screens are consistently distracting. No spin can change that. I’ve already identified how they are distracting they are so I don’t I don’t get what you’re saying. A radio and climate control with knobs is not inherently distracting as you can navigate by feel.

robxr4ti

Donoreo if you press the button and ask it to navigate to an address does it not try to use their aftermarket system and then complain that you don’t have it yet Carplay is there running? Cause Corollas do that.

robxr4ti

ugly95 the fallacy here is that you’re saying driving stick makes one less attentive in some way when the exact opposite is true. One is more attentive. Unless you’re counting in negative numbers, driving stick is not distracting.

Somewhat-Reticent

Some quibbles depend on definitions.🙄🤫

Kathy_9

Topic has drifted and run it’s course.

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