Date: Mon, 14 Apr 2003 21:08:35 -0700 From: B&D <NO_SPAMnopsamCOM> Subject: Re: GM to increase SAAB lineup
On 4/14/03 10:16 AM, in article b7eqe201of5nopsams2.newsguy.com, "Walt Kienzle" <wkienzlenopsam.net> wrote: >> I guess this is mainly caused by the difference in the way cars are >> sold. Whereas in Europe the majority of cars is built as ordered by >> the customer, resulting in delivery times, in the US cars are mostly >> bought like a supermarket item. You can buy the items available at the >> dealer and take them home instantly. >> So as a dealership you want to have cars in stock the people actually >> want to buy, and because 80% doesn't know how to drive a >> stick-shift... I guess you get the idea. > > You have it exactly correct. But it isn't only that car dealers don't stock > stick shift cars when they are available because people don't buy them, some > people that need a car in a hurry don't buy stick shift because it isn't > immediately available. That, and the expense of complying with government > regulations for an additional power train type, discourage car manufactures > from equipping cars with stick shift. I have driven a stick shift in awful traffic here for years - and I was wondering why I got so stressed out due to traffic. Then a few years ago I got an automatic and the stress just slipped away almost immediately. Might have helped that I got a more comfortable car as well, but not having to constantly change gears and heel and toe really took away a lot of stress. If you are in light traffic to freeway and country road driving - a stick is your friend. But, that is less than 10% of the time I drive a car - and having a nice manumatic transmission is almost as good. Also, keep in mind that emissions tends to be worse with a manual transmission (remember the puff of smoke you see from a car that is slightly out of tune when shifting !), and with modern/latest-technology transmissions, the gas mileage and performance tends to be in line with manual. Either way, in the US, automatics are much more prevalent, and in Europe less so. Interestingly enough, over time, I predict that most cars will at least have an automatic clutch.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
