The driving school I went to would fail people that used the “handbrake start” on a hill.
And also fail people that tried to drive backwards by looking back instead of using the mirrors.
And also fail people that tried to drive backwards by looking back instead of using the mirrors.
Huh, that’s interesting because I was tought to do the opposite. In practice, I do whichever feels right, usually mirrors but I’ve noticed in pickups I’d rather just look back
The perfect transmission UI was the Teletouch on the Ford Edsel. And if anyone tries to argue I’ll say “nuh uh,” run away, and cry.
Agreed
i miss my stick
Happens at higher age
There must be a trans joke in here somewhere.
don’t eat the crab dip!
Oh good I got here before the lemmy fuck cars brigade showed up
LET’S FUCKING TAKE THE BUS
Seriously the funniest thing talking to immigrants in the US is them reminiscing about being able to buy high quality produce, food, tools, clothing, gifts, books, etc by walking down the street or taking a bike a few blocks away. Also people daily taking vans, busses, and trains to get to work or school.
Meanwhile our transport setup is so bad, people have successfully marketed ship to your house meal prep boxes which is actually such an insane first world problem when you think about it.
Hi, !fuckcars mod here. I absolutely love my manual transmissions and unironically fully endorse this meme.
I think you might be surprised at just how much crossover there is between car enthusiasts and people who hate car dependency. Cars ought to be like horses: they should be available for enthusiasts to play with, but it should be wholly unnecessary and considered kinda ridiculous to use them as routine transportation, especially in cities.
Frankly, I would prefer it if all transmissions were manual, as it would help encourage people who see driving as a chore to use other transportation modes instead.
Yeah I honestly love driving, but I love walking and biking too. Just because I’m a car enthusiast doesn’t mean that I don’t wish that my city was more walkable or had actual public transport.
You guys do realize this is supposed to be a parody of boomer bullshit arguments right?
They don’t, and that’s the way I like 'em!
Yeah but I love my manual tbh
I will continue to steadfastly drive only with my disease transmission
All hail the Unimog!
“How many hydraulic levers you need?”
“All of them”
“How many hydraulic-driven pieces of equipment does your rig have?”
“Mind your own business”
you aren’t supposed to show people what the control panel to the mcflurry machine looks like
Biblically accurate transmission
US: predominantly automatic transmission, low speed limits
Germany: predominantly manual transmission, higher speed limits and no limits on around half of autobahns (motorways)
US road deaths per capita twice of Germany.
Draw your own conclusions.
What if we’re too American to draw an appropriate conclusion from that?
How many football field sized conclusions would it be?
Quick Google
In 2024 36% of Germans reported using the car daily.
In 2023 95.3% of Americans older than 16 drive on occasions.
83 million Germans, 63% above 16
340 million Americans, 65% above 16
52 million potential drivers in Germany, 17 million actually drive
221 million potential drivers in America, 210 million drive daily
17 million vs 210 million daily drivers
~12x more drivers, only 2x more death
Per capita isn’t really a way to look at it
Besides automatic cars or lack of a manual transmission is not causing accidents.
Chance of death goes up significantly with speed
No one has ever crashed because they couldn’t go over the speed limit
83 million Germans, 63% above 16
Not sure why you think this is relevant. Children aren’t allowed to drive in Germany.
Well you can start driving in US at 15
Like I said quick Google
Even less Germans driving, proves my point more
Germans only really drive if they are willing and able
Americans are forced to drive
Car deaths in America aren’t happening because they have automatic transmissions and can’t drive as fast as they want.
Just the seer amount of drivers, more cars on roads to crash into, and less willing and able drivers.
No, crashes in the US happen because Americans are shit drivers. They are shit drivers because you get a free driving license with box of cereal. Germany on the other hand has one of the strictest driving tests there is. A German with a driving license has had many hours of instruction from a professional instructor.
In addition, American cars are shit. Lots of poorly maintained and unsafe vehicles on the road with very lax regulation. By contrast, German cars have to pass a very comprehensive yearly safety inspection.
Downvoters mad to find out cars are inherently unsafe and need very good infrastructure and to be remotely safe.
Downvoters mad that Ek= ½mv2, and speed, funnily enough, is dangerous.
Downvoters mad that manual transmission isn’t making cars safer.
Car go vroom vroom, but public transport go better
Fax
I would, but I ran out of crayons
Probably more related to the god-awful infrastructure design in the US, like stroads and an unfathomable tendency to use stop signs for a lot of things they are just not fit for, like to replace speed bumps, chicanes, and roundabouts.
Also the better comparable statistic should be deaths per distance traveled in cars.
Here is the list 6.9 vs 4.2 deaths per 1 billion km. 12.8 vs. 3.35 per 100’000 inhabitants.
But you need both for a fuller puncture, not everyone involved/dieing is in a vehicle.
Chicanes are the best part about riding a sport bike! I get to drag knees on public roads!
Not to mention the DUI rates in the US are astronomical. Over 1/3 of motor fatalities are alcohol related in the US.
• Wanted to Start on a Steep Hill? We had a Tool for that: it was Called “Flooring the Gas while letting go off the Clutch”
I miss the Smell of Burned Clutch…
I was going to say, I always had my e-brake on when I parked my car and so I always started the car with it on.
Does he mean slowly let off the clutch while releasing the e-brake? Does he put on his e-brake if he stops on a hill, in traffic too!
If you’re on a steep hill, yes sometimes you need to use the handbrake to get moving. This had to be demonstrated when I got my licence, but to be fair some manual vehicles now have automatic hill start. Still a good technique to learn because it doesn’t always activate.
I’ve had to use the ebrake method before for a hill that was wayyyy too steep and a fence gate closed behind me.
You basically just let off the clutch and press on the gas until the car wants to move forward, then you let off the e brake and go without going backwards.
There are some steep stop sign intersections in San Francisco that I’ve had to use the e brake for.
That’s when you are supposed to use Mr_Mofu’s technique!
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We’d park my buddies Mustang on a hill wherever we went in case it wouldn’t start. LOL, everyone made fun of him saying it was a Pinto. (<- it was this, but really, really shitty)
Ah the Mustang II. What a historically bad letdown.
Manual is hell for people with back or knee issues.
Person with back and knee issues here: worth it to not have to deal with a slushbox that won’t downshift when I need it to. I’ll never give up my manual.
Eh, automatic cars will let you go into “manual” mode in which you tell it when to switch the gears. Mildly useful for steep hills to stop it from switching back and forth in some rare scenarios.
Not every automatic has that. Not to mention that there tends to be input lag when you hit the paddle, and there’s the fact that they won’t hold a gear when you need them to (instead they tend to automatically upshift right before redline). Manual mode is no substitute for a real manual.
Even the oldest automatics would let you lock it to a lower gear if you needed it.
Just curious, what kind of terrain did you encounter that seem to cause such issues with wrongly shifting gears?
Flat asphalt.
Like for example when you need to accelerate quickly to get around/avoid something. Most automatics I’ve driven will often shift into second too soon unless you drive aggressively, and absolutely refuse to drop back down to first gear—no matter how hard you stomp the accelerator pedal—even if there’s still plenty of room left in the rev range.
The only ones I’ve driven will not shift when you kick the gas pedal down, precisely to let you accelerate faster.
You can usually change the driving mode from eco over comfort to sport. They all behave differently. And the there’s the kick down, that’ll definitely shift down unless the revs would be too high.
I love driving manual, have done it since I was 18. But automatic transmissions nowadays are really good.
Yeah I’ve got regular back and ankle issues. It’s annoying when they flare up but really not that bad. Unfortunately manuals are harder and harder to find so this will likely be my last
Clutches are for the weak. Grind em till you find em.
Handbrake start is only if you sucked at driving a manual ;-)
Depends on how steep the hill is and how precise you need to be with your position. Parallel parking in San Francisco almost requires the handbrake.
You can use one foot for the gas and brake at the same time. I’ve drove manuals for over 20 years. Including split shift commercial trucks that didn’t have hand brakes.
i like automatics for easier to crank the driveshaft
My Volkswagen flashes a message when I put the key in the ignition; “Depress clutch to start”
So I tell it that the majority of Yanks don’t know how to use it and it starts every time.
Lol that handbrake start is utterly useless if you live anywhere that’s actually hilly all over.
You’ve got to learn the proper clutchwork from the very start or you’ll be taking years on every hill.
Unless you’re starting from a cold start on a hill without ABS, I guess it could a safety precaution.
that handbrake start is utterly useles
In my native country that was a requirement for the driving test.
I live in the Sierra Nevada Mountains and regularly drove my standard transmission in San Francisco (one of the hilliest cities in North America), and used my hand brake all the time to maintain my position while I engaged the transmission. I’m not really sure what you’re on about…
Yeah, I’ve heard tons of tricks over the years.
Just be fast. That’s the trick, practice and you’ll get fast at applying just the right amount of clutch in an instant.
I’m curious, how do u do it? I mean you need a foot on gas and one on the clutch to start, how do you keep your car still without handbrake (other than just being quick after moving away from the brake)?
It’s a quick motion, but the essence is that while moving from the brake to the gas, you’re also starting to apply the clutch to grab even at the still idle speed of the engine. It’s not several steps but a fluid motion, and as weird as it sounds, it’s something you pick up by feeling what the car needs to maintain the right engine speed while also not engaging the clutch too much and causing lugging or a stall. It’s why most new manual drives start in a empty level place like a parking lot and practice just going from stop to moving slowly, over and over. I also told both my boys the first time they got behind the wheel the same thing my dad did - you WILL stall out the first time. And they did. :D But they both have and love driving stick now, and hate if they have to drive someone’s automatic.
I see thanks, tbh my car is pretty crappy but if the uphill is too steep I will back up a little without handbrake and the guy behind me wont be happy :D
Oh yes, it’s absolutely dependent on the car’s abilities. But honestly there’s nothing wrong with using the handbrake if you need to in a bad situation. I’d say it’s a sign of a good driver to know the option is there and to use all of them together to get going safely.
I had to use the handbrake once on a 73 Beetle to prevent disaster. I was coming to a stop sign near home, pressed the brake, and it went to the floor. The sensor on the brake cylinder had shorted out and melted a hole, and the brake fluid went right out. Terrible design. But my awareness of what was left made me go straight to the handbrake and slowly come to a stop just in time, then I limped back home and figured out what had happened. So it’s not there just for a parking backup.
I actually like the volume knob shifter. The buttons ones I can live without.
Joke is that it is an automatic
If an automatic is good enough for the 70 Series Land Cruiser, it is good enough for me.
