Automotive extinction technologies

I hope the v evolves into the small minivan role (Mazda 5, Kia Rondo) One hopes they can get a 7 seater (3 car seats) or a 6 seater where all 4 rear seats can safely hold a car seat.

A small hybrid pickup based on the Highlander drive train would have no competition. A 35 MPG pickup for those who need a pickup on weekend for gardening/home improvement.

 

I find the writer is probably unqualified in automotive.

Manual transmissions actually are making a comeback, doing better than they were. a few years ago. I don't see why regular cabs would be going away.

One problem with yahoo is they will take articles written by any idiot.

 

Wait a sec, isn't the Prius v a "small minivan"?

 

Looks both ways - <coast is clear> - it is a station wagon, a body style so extinct, they did not even mention it. Taller roof line and a third row would help it move to mini mini van.

If it did get to mini mini van, then you hack off the back roof.


A Prius v based hybrid pick up would be prettier than a Scion b based hybrid pickup

 

Ah, if Toyota only had not shelved the A BAT, I would have gladly put down a 50% deposit on the first one off the line

 

A manual will be more efficient than an automatic when they have identical gear ratios. It's just that the non sport manuals we get in the US get the less efficient, sporty gear ratios. Supposedly it is because a person willing to drive a manual is unwilling to downshift for passing. More likely it's auto companies listening more to auto journalist that prefer sporty cars.

Compact pick ups are already dead. The last true one was the Ranger. The 'small' pick ups now available are mid-size vehicles. They and regular cab trucks may get pushed out due to the CAFE requirements. The new regulations are based on the truck's footprint. The smaller the footprint, the higher the mpg target. It isn't a linear scale, so the smaller truck has a portionually harder target to hit than the bigger one. So we likely won't see any trucks smaller than what is available now, and the few regular cabs will have the long bed. In short, the makers are encouraged to make bigger pick ups.

The Prius V, +, or Alpha already has a third seat option overseas. Guess Toyota felt we weren't ready for a non-plug in with lithium batteries.

 

Guess Toyota felt they weren't ready to warranty a non-plug in with lithium batteries for 150,000 miles and 10 years.

 

My wife totally LOVES a manual transmission. Yet, when we were looking for a replacement for our 2010 Honda Accord -EX with a manual 5 speed trans in it (rare), we discovered all the 5 speed gearboxes were gone, and now 6 speed manual gearboxes were everywhere! Mostly, behind smaller more economical MPG motors! Let me tell you, this MAY work in a highly overpowered Corvette, where it does not really matter what gear your in-- just punch it, and GO. But it made a HUGE difference in all the small economy cars we looked at & test drove. Turbo or not, most all were way underpowered, for a 6 speed manual trans!
Here is my scenario, your on the road, your going 74 MPH in the 3rd from left -fast- lane on a 5 lane freeway, and you know you can not move to the left of your lane, or right due to cars being there, but have a clear road ahead in your lane. You suddenly see a wreck just beginning to occur -very close to you- in the left most(lane 5) fast lane ahead of you, You have a split second to get the L out of the way, or become a part of the wreck as you can see the fast lane car is going to hit the car in the lane to your left, and then, for sure, YOUR next! Your best option is to floor it, and get ahead of the wreck as it happens, RIGHT NOW, or you WILL become part of the wreck! your manual transmission is in 6th gear, and in a split second you panic- shift it into 5th gear, and floor it-----> BAM you just got hit as you could not get out of the way of the oncoming wreck in time! Your shift from 6th to 5th was the natural instinctive reactive move, but, 5th simply did not put you into your needed sweet spot in your engines rev - rpm horse power zone, (or anywhere even near it) so you simply floored it, into a bogged out, low rpm, weak engine and got HIT. Now,, had you the sense of mind, you should have shifted from 6th into 4th, or, even better 3rd, to maximize your power to get out of harms way, but no, your instinct was downshift one gear, floor it, and b-o-o,-o-g-g-g- goes your rice burner engine and SMACK goes your car as it is hit and pulled into the wreck!

You can think of many more scenario's where you MAY need maximum horse power NOW, but due to the new 6 speed gear boxes, will you really remember to down shift 6th to 3rd? The new 6 speed automatic transmissions, now give you the maximum MPG, and the Maximum opportunity to get into your sweet power -maximum horsepower - rev zone, instantly by just flooring the gas pedal! I simply told my wife, the 6 speed manual trans. is no longer safe as we are old school, and would always downshift one gear, in a panic- and get hit! So even though yes, they still make a few of the Manual transmissions, they ruined the safety of them, IMHO. The old 5 speed man trans, actually WOULD go GOOD, even with a single downshift, where these new 6 speeds, will not. Oh, yea, the 6 speeds are "cool", but in reality, unsafe, just make you shift MORE, and can not equal the new auto transmission for MPG OR Safety. My wife,, even agreed, so we bought the 2013 Dart with the DDCT. (Then our 14 Prius). Just my rant for the day...

 

It all does depend on the gear ratios.
A six speed manual will have two overdrive gears, and that does take some retraining for those use to just five speed transmissions. But the five speed ones should have had 2 overdrive gears. When the 5 speeds started coming out, many of them had a final ratio near or identical the previous 4 speed's. They put the extra gear lower down to improve ;ow speed acceleration. Which just meant more shifting at lower speeds.

 

My response to your rant -- this isn't a transmission issue, or an underpowered engine issue. It is strictly a driver training / response issue.

My driving safety is based on other plans and options. Max power is mostly a rationalization, and I believe it creates far more problems than it solves.

 

I floor the go pedal perhaps once or twice a year -- each time to be a little stupid and run a yellow light.

 

Yes, I agree, "a driver training issue". My wife and I are now mid 50's, and I have to admit, the mind, to arm reaction time, in a panic situation, to us is no longer worth the "fun" value- Vs. risk of owning a 6 speed transmission. But then, I would not recommend my early 20's kids have one either as you simply can not beat the speed and accuracy of an automatic to know which gear to hit ---> instantly, to get maximum horsepower. (Then their is the little fact most automatic trans now beat the Manuals by 1 to 3 MPG, too). I had to admit, and my wife too, that we are not getting any younger, or, mentally faster, as we both usually like to keep cars 7 years or longer. It was the only way I was able to talk her into the Dodge Dart's DDCT "automatic"-- which paved the way into the Prius automatic after we had to lemon law the Dart. But we test drove every manual trans eco car out there before making the Dart decision in 2013. All of them, In our opinion, suffered this under powered "condition" for having a 6 speed man trans.. Lets face it, Eco car manufacturers went 6 speed manual trans to increase MPG, not at all as a "sport performance upgrade" for the eco box they are actually in! You could probably say that about even the performance cars with 6 speed manuals, except for them, it actually gives them a faster top speed making full use of all the available horse power. I am sure there are plenty of threads in performance car forums talking the advantage / disadvantage of 4 speed through 6 speed manual transmissions. But my concern was Safety, not at all performance, or fun. As the thread is about automotive extinction technologies, I just think the Manual transmission, has become a dinosaur, except for the fun factor.

I could go into my other rant, on turbo lag Vs. safety, or turbo used for "economy' after owning our turbo Dart, but save that for another day...

 

Beyond that, we are not agreeing at all.

Maximum power acceleration is simply not one of my emergency responses (*). I look and plan for other paths away from trouble situations, without adding more kinetic energy to secondary events. My formative driving years included so many engine stalls under acceleration, in several different cars, that I just can't trust the power to be there when called. While engine reliability is up sharply now that I'm the one responsible for maintenance, it still doesn't doesn't hold a candle to that of commercial aircraft engines.

(*) I would use max power if trying to escape the approaching ash cloud of an exploding volcano. One local did survive that way, going over 100 mph to pass another car going 'only' about 70 mph on a narrow winding mountain road. The passer did survive to tell his story to the TV news reporters, as they showed the picture of the ash covered wreckage of the slower car, smashed into a tree blown down across the road. May 18, 1980, near Mt. St. Helens.

 

In the cases where the automatic beats the manual in fuel economy you will find that the automatic has a taller final gear than the manual. The six speed manual and automatic for the 1.4L Sonic have similar gear ratios, and the manual is rated higher. Granted, it is only about 3mpg better because automatics have gotten better, but the manual gives more control to the driver. Allowing those that want efficiency to beat the EPA by a wider margin than with the automatic.

 

How do the two transmissions compare in city driving ?

 

2 mpg better for the manual.
Compare Side-by-Side
Here is the assorted gear ratios for then transmissions: Chevrolet News - United States - Sonic

 

Back around 2009 - Kia considered doing a similar number on the Soul;


and now that they're doing an ev version of the Soul ... I'd of wanted that mini pickup to happen
.

 

Smart had a pick up EV concept a few years back.

 

- Pickups? No never. Too useful for hauling stuff around construction zones & farms.

- Two door compacts? Luxury coupes? Doubtful. People like the coupe style.

- Manual trans in nonsporty cars. Yeah probably. Hybrid designs typically require computer-controlled automatic transmissions & nonhybrids benefit from CVTs that boost city MPG (important for meeting CAFE and CO2 minimums).

- V8 family cars. Nah. Automakers have already developed techniques that let these cars run on 4 or even 3 cylinders, so that they achieve high fuel economy in the Highway/Extraurban tests.

- Base models. Um. No. By definition there will always be a "base" level for cars, and higher levels above it.