There is no doubt, manual gearboxes are doomed to extinction and are a legacy of the first cars, regardless of how far they have evolved. The list of manufacturers that offer them is in a constant process of shrinking, until its complete disappearance.
In the dawn of the automobile manual changes They were an absolute necessity. Given the power delivery of internal combustion engines, which must rotate at a minimum speed to avoid stalling, a device had to be designed to be able to match the speed of the engine to a stationary vehicle.
As the power of the engines increased, the number of speeds required increased. For a long time, the longest gear ratios did not reach the “direct”, that is 1:1, and later came the overdrives, overdirect or super long. Over time, overdrives greatly increased top speeds.
Until after World War II, automatic transmissions were not a widespread thing. The American motor industry gradually integrated them into a multitude of ranges and models, including two speeds, which has reached our days in the form of gearboxes of up to 10 speeds without leaving the world of light vehicles. The manuals have not passed seven relationships.
Manual gearbox for the Toyota GR Supra
Manual gearboxes have required, with a few exceptions, the handling of a third pedal, the clutch, to be able to separate the engine from the transmission momentarily, make the change, and release the pedal to recouple the mechanics. It’s been decades of terror for car driver’s license students.
The relationship «manual change» and «economy» have been closely related, but the continuous improvement of the technique has been turning the tables. Today there is an unusual panoply of gearboxes, from the simplest robotized manual (piloted clutch) to the most sophisticated double-clutch boxes, torque converter, etc.
The proliferation of electric and hybrid cars is removing manual transmissions as they no longer make sense in these vehicles, but the ratio of manual vs. automatic is also rapidly reversing. In some segments, the manual change is already a symbol of exclusivity.
Manual gearbox for the Volkswagen Golf GTI
For the vast majority of drivers, a good automatic gearbox treats the mechanics better, alleviates the costly replacement of the clutch (except for piloted manuals, which maintain it), reduces fuel consumption, and even allows forward movement by inertia or “gliding”. » without implying a greater risk at the wheel.
The same can be said of the most high-performance and exclusive models on the market. Gone are the days when automatic transmissions were made with those who couldn’t use the clutch pedal or didn’t want to use it in mind. In many designs, it is not even considered where to place the gear lever of all life.
In fact, in some models the manual transmission is not feasible, especially in models with semi-autonomous or fully autonomous driving.
However, there is still a market niche where the manual transmission will continue to have a discreet role, and even greater value. For example, the announcement of the Toyota GR Supra with a manual gearbox is a shock to those who do not want an automatic, no matter how good it is, and even if it makes them less efficient.
Manual gearbox for the Porsche 911
The most modern gearboxes, especially those with robotized double clutch and two secondary shafts (odd and even gears), can do reduction substitutes as if the driver did a double clutch and even heel-toe maneuver. There is still nothing like doing it yourself, with a little practice.
Sometimes, the car has to put efficiency in the background, and focus on the sensations chapter. And that is reflected a lot in certain models, despite having a good automatic transmission, its target audience prefers manual. And especially younger drivers prefer it, since older ones tend to prefer automatic.
The latest cars with manual transmission will surely be very exclusive, once all economic cars use an automatic transmission of some type. And some drivers won’t even be able to drive them legally, especially having learned with automatic, having been tested with automatic, and with the restriction of not being able to drive manual.