Archslater, as someone here taught me, if torque is flat, horsepower increases directly with rpms and THAT's where the fun is...

re: stevejust: the data tell us that people buy more manual transmission cars, not why, which was the original question.

ooops... thanks, buschman.. i sit corrected: the data DO tell us that manual trans cars get more mpgs, and that's all that's there to infer. my mistake .

...... but you're inferring that that's why people buy them. not fair!

 

Actually I think was trying to show that manuals do infact still get better gas mileage than automatics. I'm not sure where you got the # of manual v. autmatic purchasers from.

I think the CVT auto has a lot of hope. It's really in it's infancy stanges right now but it has the potential to out perform traditioanl autos and manuals alike(at least as far as gas mileage and perhaps power are concerned). There are three major advantages of the manual to the auto. Manuals generally have more gears to select from, they are lighter, and Automatics generally don't have lockups(ie no physical connection between the engine and tranny). So even when the engine is maintaining a constant RPM some of the power is being lost to the transmission fluid. I'm not really sure why moist manufactorers don't use lockups. Perhaps they do and I just don't know about it. Plus I'm not sure how the CVT handles similar situations. One things for sure, the CVT has certainly solved the less gear ratio problem of the traditional autos. I'm not sure about the weight but I could also see the CVT coming in lighter than the manuals due to their more simple design.

Regardless, no matter how great the CVT gets, there will always be a place in the hearts of true driving enthusiasts for the manual transmission.

Mike

 

CVTs have been around forever. A Dutch company named Daf used to make cars with CVT transmissions in the 70s or earlier. The company was bought by Volvo in the 70s.

 

Probably true. I mean overhead cams have been around since the 20s(maybe earlier), but they weren't in the mainstream. Same with CVTs. It's not till the past 3 or 4 years that they have really started to pick up steam. They are gaining acceptance, which means more manufacturers will want to employ them which means the advances in the technology should grow tremendously in the next few years.

I mean from a racing standpoint I'd think CVTs would be near impossible to beat. Utilize a torque convert w/trans break for maximum launch, ability to launch at peak torque, able to move your RPMs to peak horsepower, and you're getting absolute maximum efficiency our of your powerband. My guess is either these transmissions have not yet been designed to handle real power yet or they just aren't accepted by the mainstream yet and need time to catch on.

Mike

 

Originally Posted by kenny
I can understand not wanting, or being able, to pay exdtra $1000 for a CVT.

But why would anyone *prefer* manual transmission?

All that shifting and clutching!

*Easy answer: It's a LOT easier to screech tires with a manual transmission!