In this day and age, nobody teaches stick. I imagine alot of people under 40 don't even have a clue how to use a stick shift.
Having said that, I have driven stick before. My uncle gave me a few lessons with his truck. It convinced me that while stick shifting is do-able, there's nothing particularly virtuous about it and it is alot of work for very little gain. I can't imagine wanting to stick shift in traffic.
I lived in the UK for 4 years in the late 80's, so I know about Europe. What's your point? They also don't have air conditioning in European cars or homes, for the most part. That doesn't meant I would consider a car without A-C in the US. In my book its a necessity.
Auto transmissions typically on most cars have 95 percent the fuel efficiency of the manual versions. So for most people there's no good reason to get a manual in the US. That kind of penny pinching, IMO, is not worth the extra hbuttle of driving a manual. Even Europeans are gradually starting to change their tune about automatic transmissions, especially in northern Europe.
No,. The VW-Audi DSG shifts faster and smoother than is humanly possible with a manual transmission- it most definitely is not a manual transmission, although it does have a manual shifting mode. The DSG is typically faster 0-60 than a manual transmission, by a few tenths of a second.
You are so convinced a manual transmission is so much more efficient and demonstrative of driving skill. So I suppose you look back ruefully on the day that cars ditched things like manual spark advances, manual chokes, etc.?
Diesel Automobiles 4325No, it is due to the Americans who don't bother to demand that US does away with its antedulivan NHTSA and the FMVSS...
Diesel Automobiles 4326Right on the money. Right on the money. We are one. All of the earths countries have one thing in common and that is that we all share the...
