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Thickening of the owner's manual says more about the owners than the car. Here is what you need to know. Start the engine, put it it in drive and go.
Things aren't so simple today. Some automatics have an autoshift setting and no low gear selectors. Some cars have built in alarm systems and you need to read the manual to know how it operates. Some have break-in periods and instructions for the car. Some have cabin air filters located in unusual places. Some don't have a spare tire, just a compressor & sealant to inflate a flat tire. Some vehicles have hidden storage compartments. I had one car that said in the owners manual that to accelerate fast from a dead stop you must press the gas 1/2 to 3/4 way down and if trying to pass a vehicle you must press the gas all the way down. I tried it and it worked. Flooring the gas at a stop made it accelerate slower than pressing 1/2 to 3/4 down. If you have kids, you need to know where all the child car seat anchor spots are located. If the car's transmission has L1, L2, or L3 then how fast and long can you drive in each setting and under what conditions should you use them? If your transmission has a manual shift setting then does it only shift if you move the lever or does it shift automatically if it gets close to redline if you don't shift? These are things to know.
Vehicles are more complicated, and then the manufacturers are adding info not only on how to connect seat belts and child seats but how much alcohol is dangerous. Then you have driver information centers and they describe each message, Mylink (or similar) systems and they describe how to use all the controls, navigation systems, etc. Vehicles are getting very complex and offering more options and more items standard.
For the manufacturer it is cheaper to produce one manual that covers all the (example) models of Silverado pickup trucks made from the bare bones work truck to the top of the line High Country. The owner's manual is a federal requirement and has an actual part number and must leave the assembly plant with it in the vehicle. So having one vs. five or six makes it easier to distribute at the end of the line and cheaper to print, even if it is getting larger.
Something interesting I've noticed in regards to the manual is they don't spend much time anymore telling people how to drive a standard transmission.
And a lot of descriptions where you "have to be in P (N for manual)" often don't even include the parenthetical instructions for the standard transmission.
Is the assumption that no one buys manual transmissions anymore so we don't even deserve parentheses?
(Or are we just expected to be smarter than the masses driving automatics? )
Something interesting I've noticed in regards to the manual is they don't spend much time anymore telling people how to drive a standard transmission.
A lot of descriptions where you "have to be in P (N for manual)" often don't include the parenthetical instructions for the standard transmission.
Is the assumption that no one buys manual transmissions anymore so we don't even deserve parentheses?
(Or are we just expected to be smarter than the masses driving automatics? )
There's not a standard transmission option for most vehicles anymore . No need to put anything in the manual.
Which begs the question: if it's not available much why is it still called "standard".
The manual that came with my new 5spd said barely anything about the transmission operation or variances in general tasks that are created by the different transmissions.
It's a big change from what one would see in a similar manual 10 years ago, and certainly different than what it was 25 or 30 years ago.
Maybe they figure if you buy a standard you know how to drive it. Your first post wasn't as clear as you think.
The manual for my F150 with SelectShift goes into some detail on how to manage that. And it's not that difficult (but it is a pain in the ass due to placement of the shifter button on the shifter).
That is indeed how it appears. 1.5 pages for operation of the manual and 5.5 pages for the automatic...
Truth be told, I tend to assume if someone buys an automatic they probably know how to drive IT, too. But, I suppose all this new Select Shift and Dual Clutch stuff does have a learning curve. Whereas the basic function of a 6 speed hasn't changed much since it was a 3 speed.
To the user's manual itself, mine is 463 bible-thin pages, including the appendices. But then there are also three supplementary manuals! lol
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