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Many modern CVTs have active engine breaking. The ECU determines when you're going into a turn, slowing down to a stop, or going down hill. It then applies engine breaking rather than engaging the break pads.
I always owned cars with manual transmissions and loved them, until I got quite sick and didn't have the strength to drive a stick any longer. I had to switch to an automatic if I wanted to drive, so now I drive an automatic. My dad followed the same path, he always had a stick until he weakened, due to age, and then went over to an automatic. Automatics are just easier.
Location: West Los Angeles and Rancho Palos Verdes
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FWIW, I'm almost 43 and recently took a manual gearbox refresher, as it had been more than a decade since driving a manual. Furthermore, I just traded up a not particularly fast grocery getter with an auto to a Fiat 500 Abarth with a manual, and I'm very glad I did. And I'll be in a retirement home sipping my meals through a straw before I purchase another car w/ an auto tranny.
I live in the DC area. Traffic here SUCKS and is so congested that my husband would drive from DC to our home (all of 8 miles) and never get out of first gear some days, hard on the clutch, hard on the hips.
When I had a 5-speed manual I looked forward to traffic jams so I could shift more.
FWIW, I'm almost 43 and recently took a manual gearbox refresher, as it had been more than a decade since driving a manual. Furthermore, I just traded up a not particularly fast grocery getter with an auto to a Fiat 500 Abarth with a manual, and I'm very glad I did. And I'll be in a retirement home sipping my meals through a straw before I purchase another car w/ an auto tranny.
Once you drive a manual you never forget I never will need to learn all over . It's like rideing a bike. I use to drive a 3 on the tree. I even know the hand signals still. I had a 59 vw manual, a ford Festiva with a 5 speed. Ford pick up with a 5 speed. I love driveing a manual. I use to push start a manual car.
Many modern CVTs have active engine breaking. The ECU determines when you're going into a turn, slowing down to a stop, or going down hill. It then applies engine breaking rather than engaging the break pads.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Arcenal352
It's been around for years. It's computer-programmed, and the dealer can turn it off and on.
My Altima's was on by default.
Look it up.
Quote:
Originally Posted by NJBest
It's not new by any means.
Sources include Lexus, Nissan, Subaru, BMW, Audi, GM just to name a few.
Great.. I prefer mine without the engine BREAKING...
smfh...
I grew up in Europe and still visit; manual trans cars are still common there. In fact, last time I was in the UK, it was cheaper to rent a manual trans car than an automatic - do US rental agencies even rent manual vehicles, exotics excepted?
Anyhow - to this day I vastly prefer them. For many reasons:
More power and performance. (More fun!)
Better control in adverse or hilly conditions.
Cheaper - better gas mileage, less brake wear, much cheaper to replace - my 1995 Nissan beater pick-up with almost 250,000 miles still has the original clutch.
When my Chevy Venture needed a new transmission at 160,000 miles, the cost of having it done at a shop almost exceeded the value of the van; I sold it.
I've also owned a Saab Viggen and a Porsche 944S - both very nice sports cars and I cannot imagine them being nearly as much FUN to drive with an automatic! I adore driving, though.
"There is no question that manual transmissions "resonate with customers who still enjoy the act of driving," said Marie. ...To many people, driving is just getting from Point A to Point B. ... In recent years, consumers have been willing to pay more, get fewer miles per gallon and have less control of the vehicle — all for the sake of convenience."
I've asked people I know and the most common reason they prefer automatics is because they're "easier to drive in traffic." Maybe it's because I'm used to driving a standard, I don't put any conscious thought into it; in fact it's automatic. LOL.
Is it a convenience factor? Are newer automatics better, cost-wise? (I haven't owned anything newer than ten years old in several years but the article I linked to suggests they are.)
An aside - I think driving a standard makes a person a better driver, because it's a bit more interactive. For several years back in the 1980s I drove a semi over the road; having 18 speeds does make you more conscious, especially when how you drive impacts fuel economy and your bottom line! (I was a company driver but got fuel bonuses.) Maybe I am an old fogey, but I also prefer stiffer steering and brakes and guages instead of warning lights; because it seems to me I pay more attention to the act of driving generally. I've driven hundreds of thousands of miles on several continents and different countries without an accident and I wonder if learning to drive in a more conscious, interactive way makes people more attentive drivers in general?
I've had manual trannies all my life in my Jeeps but have an automatic sedan for work & travel. I know so many people who can't drive a stick. I can't figure it out, other than they were too lazy to learn to drive one.
Great.. I prefer mine without the engine BREAKING...
smfh...
I still don't think they get it ...
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