As a race, do we appear to be getting more and more lazy, or is it just part of the natural process of evolution? It appears that we can no longer be bothered to depress the clutch and change gears manually. Car manufacturers now provide a multitude of options, in a varying range of acronyms, in order to prevent drivers from having to do so – ranging from a regular torque converter automatic (AT), continuously variable transmission (CVT), direct shift gearbox (DSG), sequential manual transmission (SMT), and probably a host of others that I can’t immediately think of.
Don’t get me wrong, these are all technological masterpieces in their own right, and they do make the process of driving more hassle free. But that’s the point – we’ve developed an apathy towards the actual physical act of driving a car. The car is viewed more as a fashion statement, an image enhancer, and a sign of an individuals financial well being, rather than a piece of engineering from which one can extract a great deal of pleasure by developing a clear understanding and relationship between car and driver.
As a race, do we appear to be getting more and more lazy,
or is it just part of the natural process of evolution?
The mechanical experience of changing gears manually, feeling the shift linkage, physically moving the lever out of one gear and into another – that feeling is missing in an automatic or even a paddle shift, which is controlled by electronics. You’re sending a message to a microchip, not manually changing gears, and ultimately, you’re a little disconnected as a result.
Moreover, the act of changing gears is another differentiating factor between a good driver and an average one. The evasive art of the heel and toe downshift, which is to say perfectly matching revs between the input and output shaft of the gearbox while braking and downshifting at the same time, is a very satisfying one when you get it right.
Take paddle shifts for instance, it’s proven that the fastest way of getting around a racetrack is to have a quick shifting semi automatic gearbox versus a proper manual – but is it the most satisfying? The novelty of a paddle shift is great, but for me it wears off sooner rather than later.
Nevertheless, the part that concerns me isn’t that transmission technology is moving forward and getting better – it’s the mass exodus that appears to be taking place. I suppose, in large part, it’s a result of the reality of traffic conditions that are prevalent in any urban setting. My plea is this – don’t give up on the manual gearbox, which has served us so well and for so long, just yet…
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