The Unknow
Why does the UK and Europe prefer manual driving where as America favors automatic?? Anything behind it??
Answer
There is a culture difference. People on this side of the pond look at a car as a convenient luxury. People in Europe tend to look at a car as something to be driven and enjoyed.
Most European cars were built with that idea in mind. They have superior handling and performance for the size of car and engine. If they want a large car, they still go with one that handles.
Most roads in the US are straight whereas in Europe, the roads are curvy with greater elevation changes. A car with a manual transmission gives you the option of engine braking along with more control in keeping the revs in the power band.
The roads most like Europe are likely to be found in the mountain states and in the south east. North Georgia has some of the best roads and scenery in the middle of summer. Half the fun of driving is making your car do what you want it to.
There is a culture difference. People on this side of the pond look at a car as a convenient luxury. People in Europe tend to look at a car as something to be driven and enjoyed.
Most European cars were built with that idea in mind. They have superior handling and performance for the size of car and engine. If they want a large car, they still go with one that handles.
Most roads in the US are straight whereas in Europe, the roads are curvy with greater elevation changes. A car with a manual transmission gives you the option of engine braking along with more control in keeping the revs in the power band.
The roads most like Europe are likely to be found in the mountain states and in the south east. North Georgia has some of the best roads and scenery in the middle of summer. Half the fun of driving is making your car do what you want it to.
ABOUT CAR TRANSMISSIONS?
KW-Thug+An
I JUST WANT TO KNOW IF THERE ARE ANY CARS (IF SO GIVE NAMES PLZ) that have a manual stick and also automatic. because i would like the feeling of shifting but sometimes would like to kick back and just put it on drive and not have to worry about shifting .
Answer
there are a wide range of gearbox types used in cars today.
basic manuals which use a driver controlled clutch to connect the engine to the gearbox and a gear lever for selecting gears.
basic automatics use a fluid coupling to connect the engine and gearbox and use a computer to control gear selection. in modern automatics, there has been an increase in the use of paddles to let the driver give the computer prompts to change the gear. systems like these are often used in premium or luxury cars. they are still automatics and have the speed downfalls of automatics which is the fluid coupling that makes the engine lose power and lack response and immediacy.
then come the tricky gearboxes.
automated manuals which are the ones seen in expensive sports cars like a BMW M3, Lamborghini Gallardo or older Audi R8 models.
these are much like manual gearboxes where they use a clutch (rather than a fluid coupling) to connect the engine to the gearbox. unlike manuals though, automated manuals have computers controlling the clutch and gear selection. this means that you get the immediacy and lightness of a manual gearbox with the ease of use of an automatic. these gearboxes are much faster than a manual or regular automatic gearbox. (the immediacy of a clutch with the added speed of a computer controlling everything means huge speed benefits).
the oldest car that i know of with an automated manual would be an E36 generation BMW M3. these are quite old and were not as refined as the gearboxes we have today. even the next generation (E46) were much better but they were still plagued with reliability issues. modern automated manuals are actually quite good. but there's still another type.
in supercars, there has been a rise in the use of a dual clutch gearbox. this is like 2 gearboxes in 1. 1 clutch controls gears 1,3,5 and 7 while the other controls 2,4,6 and reverse. by preparing the next gear and just quickly alternating clutches, a dual clutch gearbox has much faster shift times, much smoother shifts and overall better performance. they are seen in cars like the Ferrari 458 Italia, Mclaren MP4-12C, or Nissan GT-R. these gearboxes are incredibly fast but very complex and expensive. you'll rarely see them on affordable cars.
if you want to be able to manual select gears (moving a lever connected to the gearbox around) and at the same time have an automatic function, i'm afraid you are out of luck, no such cars exist. there are still many options available if you just want to use things like a button to tell the car when to shift. this technology has been around for quite some time now and is easy to use. just look for any signs of manual mode on the gear selector lever or paddles behind the wheel.
on audi, VW and porsche, the basic automatics with driver contolled gear changing is called tiptronic (DSG is a dual clutch gearbox). look for signs like -tronic. (sport-tronic, touch-tronic, or sport shift). only true manuals will let you use a clutch and gear lever though.
there are a wide range of gearbox types used in cars today.
basic manuals which use a driver controlled clutch to connect the engine to the gearbox and a gear lever for selecting gears.
basic automatics use a fluid coupling to connect the engine and gearbox and use a computer to control gear selection. in modern automatics, there has been an increase in the use of paddles to let the driver give the computer prompts to change the gear. systems like these are often used in premium or luxury cars. they are still automatics and have the speed downfalls of automatics which is the fluid coupling that makes the engine lose power and lack response and immediacy.
then come the tricky gearboxes.
automated manuals which are the ones seen in expensive sports cars like a BMW M3, Lamborghini Gallardo or older Audi R8 models.
these are much like manual gearboxes where they use a clutch (rather than a fluid coupling) to connect the engine to the gearbox. unlike manuals though, automated manuals have computers controlling the clutch and gear selection. this means that you get the immediacy and lightness of a manual gearbox with the ease of use of an automatic. these gearboxes are much faster than a manual or regular automatic gearbox. (the immediacy of a clutch with the added speed of a computer controlling everything means huge speed benefits).
the oldest car that i know of with an automated manual would be an E36 generation BMW M3. these are quite old and were not as refined as the gearboxes we have today. even the next generation (E46) were much better but they were still plagued with reliability issues. modern automated manuals are actually quite good. but there's still another type.
in supercars, there has been a rise in the use of a dual clutch gearbox. this is like 2 gearboxes in 1. 1 clutch controls gears 1,3,5 and 7 while the other controls 2,4,6 and reverse. by preparing the next gear and just quickly alternating clutches, a dual clutch gearbox has much faster shift times, much smoother shifts and overall better performance. they are seen in cars like the Ferrari 458 Italia, Mclaren MP4-12C, or Nissan GT-R. these gearboxes are incredibly fast but very complex and expensive. you'll rarely see them on affordable cars.
if you want to be able to manual select gears (moving a lever connected to the gearbox around) and at the same time have an automatic function, i'm afraid you are out of luck, no such cars exist. there are still many options available if you just want to use things like a button to tell the car when to shift. this technology has been around for quite some time now and is easy to use. just look for any signs of manual mode on the gear selector lever or paddles behind the wheel.
on audi, VW and porsche, the basic automatics with driver contolled gear changing is called tiptronic (DSG is a dual clutch gearbox). look for signs like -tronic. (sport-tronic, touch-tronic, or sport shift). only true manuals will let you use a clutch and gear lever though.
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