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Do you miss manual transmissions?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by ghomner, Oct 10, 2008.

  1. ghomner

    ghomner New Member

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    I've always driven manual transmissions, partly because they always got better gas mileage and partly because I enjoyed the increased control of engine speed and such.

    The Prius looks awesome, but I suspect I'll end up missing a manual transmission :(

    Anybody used to drive manuals? Do you miss them?
     
  2. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

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    I like driving a manual, but I don't miss it with our Prius. The Prius transmission is unlike anything you have ever experienced. It's so smooth that you can't believe it: no shifting, lurching, or grinding. You press on the gas and the car goes faster, without shifting.

    Tom
     
  3. spitinuri

    spitinuri Member

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    A manual transmission was fun if you had a sport suspension and drove hills and sharp curves. Beyond that.. I can't say much positive except for the nastalgia of it. I remember 3 speed on the column shifting. Those were kinda fun. I also had an old Plymouth with a push button automatic.... Now that was cool.

    Air-conditioning was an option? Those were the days.
     
  4. cycledrum

    cycledrum PSOCSOASP

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    29 years of driving with 22 of them in manual transmissions. Good Lord no, I don't miss them. My current, but old pickup is manual, same with the motorcycle.

    As said before, Prius doesn't shift gears, it is incredibly smooth. After checking tires today, had a chance to drive under 30 mph. The car went almost a mile on battery alone and I really like that. It will be great if they have big breakthroughs in battery technology in the next few years.
     
  5. paprius4030

    paprius4030 My first Prius

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    WOW somebody else besides me remembers pushbutton transmissions LOL. My Valiant had 3 on the tree, I don't miss that LOL
     
  6. john1701a

    john1701a Prius Guru

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    Nope, I certainly don't miss mine. The daily stop & slow commute ruined the appeal. All that shifting really became a pain.

    Now, it's quite the opposite. I roll through that mess in bliss, enjoying every moment of the electric drive.

    .
     
  7. Jack66

    Jack66 Kinda Jovial Member

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    I really enjoyed manual transmissions and preferred them until I got my Prius. One other thing that changed my mind was NO VA traffic on I-95. I had a few three-hour commutes (one way) and my left leg would cramp up and there was nothing I could do about it. The CVT is excellent. :)
     
  8. okiebutnotfrommuskogee

    okiebutnotfrommuskogee Senior Member

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    Some pushbutton transmission cars are still around and we have one. Here are couple pictures of our 1963 Chrysler New Yorker. The row of buttons on the left of the instrument panel are for the transmission and the row at the right of the instruments is for the heater/ac controls. With a 413 cid engine, it doesn't get the mileage of a Prius, but it sure is fun to drive.
     

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  9. JRMurray

    JRMurray Magnetic Gray is the only way!

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    I started driving in 1977. For the first 20 years or so, I drove nothing but manuals.

    Do I miss them? In a word ... no. Manuals were fun driving on the open road, but I live in a city of almost 2 million, and there aren't many open roads around here anymore.

    Driving a manual in stop-and-go traffic is miserable.:frusty:
     
  10. spitinuri

    spitinuri Member

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    My push button auto was on a 1962 Plymouth Valiant
     
  11. brick

    brick Active Member

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    From the perspective of fun, I do. Until the Prius I drove nothing but a stick shift and I enjoyed it. But from a practical perspective, the CVT is far superior to the stick. You essentially choose the gear ratio with your foot and let the car handle the throttle, so you get exactly what you need when you need it. How many cars will let you cruise a 55mph road turning 1500RPM and then slide up above 3k to pass without so much as a flutter?

    The simplicity wins me over, too. No friction material to wear out, no gears to grind. Put fresh fluid in it once in a while and the transmission should last practically forever.
     
  12. bedrock8x

    bedrock8x Senior Member

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    My push button transmission car is a 58 Plymouth Fury 4 door with fins, 318 with Torqeflite and green color with matching green interior.


     
  13. PA Prius

    PA Prius Active Member

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    I've been driving for 34 years and this is the first vehicle I've owned that is not manual, same for my wife. I miss it somewhat, but our '95 S10 eases the withdraw.

    PA P
     
  14. richard schumacher

    richard schumacher shortbus driver

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    Yes, I did. No, I don't; the Toyota HSD works too well. Zero shift lag.
     
  15. 928Quest

    928Quest Junior Member

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    There is NO reason to have a manual in the Prius. If you really dig in to what makes the HSD work you will see why. Here are some of the highlights.

    1. There is nothing in the Prius that resembles a standard auto or manual transmission.
    2. The gear ratio never changes. Thats right, from 0 to full speed the gear ratio used is exactly the same. The electric motors (2 of them) and the gas engine are connected in such a way that the gas engine thinks it connected to a continuously variable transmission, and the main electric motor is hard connected through some fixed gears right to the wheels. The speed difference between the two electrical motors is what makes the gas motor think it's connected to a CVT. It's diabolical.

    3. Since no gears ever change you don't need any clutches, synchro's, valve bodies, torque converters, etc. etc. In short, nothing that you find in a standard auto or manual is in the HSD. Oh, yeah, no tranny fluid either.
     
  16. ljasonl

    ljasonl New Member

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    My previous car was an '02 Subaru Impreza with a built suspension and engine and, of course, a manual. It was a blast on the mountain roads.

    No, I don't miss the manual. The Prius is so damn smooth, you never feel any of those lurches or lags you get from an auto. My my has an '03 Subaru Forrester, I used to think it was a really smooth riding car (it was compared to a lowered/stiffened Impreza). Now every time I drive it all I can think of is how clunky and awkward it feels.
    I think I would prefer a CVT to a manual, even in a performance/race car, now that I've experienced it and learned the strengths of it.
     
  17. Flying White Dutchman

    Flying White Dutchman Senior Member

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    "Do you miss manual transmissions?"
    never
    what i do mis is automatic when driving a stuppid manual car.
     
  18. okiebutnotfrommuskogee

    okiebutnotfrommuskogee Senior Member

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    A couple of corrections, There are planetary gears and there is transmission fluid in the HSD.

    Edit: There is also a clutch, but it doesn't disengage, it acts as a buffer between the engine and transmission to take out some of the jerk during engine off/on transition.
     
  19. john1701a

    john1701a Prius Guru

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    Not quite.

    In Prius, the PSD doesn't have any "gears" since nothing ever shifts up or down. Those components are only the basic power carriers.

    In other HSD vehicles, there is a second PSD which provides a type of low/high gearing.

    .
     
  20. blamy

    blamy Member

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    5 Porsche's and a really nice 64 Corvette and I do not miss the Manual Transmission one bit!:D