4-On the Floor is No More

Over the past recent years it looks like the Automotive world is in the process of a social change. If you ask people if they know how to drive a car with an manual transmission I bet most of them will not know how to, and even more will not know what you are talking about if you say "stick shift". Decades ago, the option to equip your new car with a manual or automatic was as standard as choosing the color for it. Now though it is rare to find a car that even considers having a manual transmission as an option when you go to the showrooms. In a sea of automatic transmission we have two options which seem to want to replace the "antique" method of a clutch and stick to change gears. One is the "sports" or "semi-automatic" transmissions which come on most new cars and it is basically an automatic but with a separate setting that is usually marked with a plus and minus sign. Each auto makers have different systems, and you use the level to move it up or down to change gears without using a clutch. This method is pointless as you cannot change gears unless the car's onboard computer says it's safe to do so, and it even shifts down for you if you forget that you're in that setting. To me the semi-auto is like seeing a super model wearing a snow suit, you're going to have to use your imagination in order to enjoy it. The second alternative is called "paddle shifters" or the "floppy paddles" as some people call them. These are many used on performance cars and the idea was taken from Formula 1 race cars. With these gear boxes you get two paddles on each side of the steering wheel, and you push one of them to change up and one to change down and that differs from one company to another. These are mainly used on high end super cars like Ferrari's and Lamborghini's and they work…sometimes. Paddle shifters are great when your thrashing a Lamborghini down a racetrack because it allows you to shift much quicker and keep both hands on the wheel at all times, but if your just using them on a your new Camaro in the streets of a big city then they just feel like a toy. Having a plain and simple gear stick with a clutch is the purest form of driving there is, because with it you become another moving part in the car's engine and without you the car does not move. Changing gears manually allows you to communicate with your car and feel how your engine is doing; if you miss a gear or shift incorrectly it tells you with a loud noise. Enzo Ferrari, the founder of Ferrari motors and racing team, was once quoted as saying that none of his cars would ever have anything but a manual transmission. He must be rolling in his grave as now all Ferrari's can come with paddle or automatic transmissions. Thankfully in other parts of the world, it is still common to see a stick shift and some American automakers like Buick and Ford still allow it as an option, on selective models only. I do not think that the stick shift is becoming extinct, but I do think that cars are in danger of becoming boring. This link is a perfect example of why a manual transmission is just plain better if you actually want to enjoy your drive to work in the morning or at least be wake during it.

(Jesus Garcia may be contacted at jesusgarcia@dusty.tamiu.edu)