Why mostly manual cars in UK

Because they can!

So that anyone can use a car.  no driving test required.  Don't need to own a car.  Business to make money for someone.  Etc etc

Edited By not done it yet on 05/12/2019 14:20:51

Well, that actually does still remain to be seen...

Absolutely correct!

Instead of having ago at drivers using their automatic stop/start cars as designed, why not have a go at the car manufactures who year on year seem to add another row of rear lights/brake lights!

I was unfortunate to follow a new car of Eastern origin the other night on a crowded motorway. There were two rows of bright LED strips right across the car plus another row of high level brake lights. Volvo have put those ridiculous vertical rear arrays on the recent vehicles, and most manufacturers seem to compete as to how many bright LED running lights they can fit onto the front of a car! There is a thread on here about the world going mad, this subject would also fit that title.

Year's ago there were standard positions for lights on cars and lights were effective and fit for purpose. Ah well!!!

Driverless cars? Well the car could take the wife shopping while we stay in the workshop!

Given the number of road deaths and serious accidents world wide it’s clear that humans simply aren’t up to the job. If you take car ownership away from people completely it will not only cut deaths on our roads but free up time for what many drivers really want to do - look at their phones. It would also cut car crime and reduce pollution. I would expect that fully autonomous cars will be cheap to hire so all those that can’t afford to buy a car would have access to cheaper reliable transport. I could also mention noise pollution and other anti social driving from the chav’s that every area seems to have. Governments know all this and they can monitor where everyone is at any given time so you may not like it, and many won’t but it’s coming at some point whether the public like it or not. From what I’ve read though many young people already dislike the prospect of spending a large part of their income on a metal box that spends 95% of its time outside their house or workplace. Attitudes change but it’s often the elderly that get so stuck in the past they can’t see the future. Don’t panic though, you’ll likely be long dead before fully autonomous transport rules the roads!

Working with young people who have visual impairments or who are blind - they are as keen as anyone else in wishing to have personal transport and many cannot wait for such vehicles to become available.

Also I think far too many car accidents are caused by a simple mechanical problem - the nut behind the steering wheel!

Ah progress - when cars arrived, equine pleasures were forced off the road, and no-one cared then about horse huggers.

The advantage of driverless cars is no-one needs to learn how to drive. Anyone can have a car, whether disabled, blind, drunk, foreign, nervous, clumsy, uninsurable or underage. No need to find car parking in a strange town; instead the car will drop you off and return when needed - it can sort itself out.

No bad drivers clogging up the roads, fewer accidents, better traffic flow, and goods and people delivered without having to pay White Van Man or talk politics with opinionated taxi drivers. No-one will race ambulances, block junctions, miss traffic lights, overtake stupidly, get road rage or have panic attacks. Joyriders won't be doing doughnuts outside your house at 2AM and the car will stop safely as soon as Mr Policeman asks it to. Stealing a car inclined to drive home on its own will be difficult. Men won't have to argue with their wives about stopping to take directions.

Best of all, caravan owners will be able to stay in them for their entire holiday. No need to sit in a car during the journey! Instead ride in the van, make tea, watch TV, snooze, and wave at the queue behind. And married couples will be free to have really long meaningful conversations about feelings, colour schemes, fashion and family matters. Marital bliss!

No problem - I own a push-bike.

Dave

.....and the driverless car will know exactly where you went and who else got in just before you asked it to go to the quiet leafy lane and which pedestrians and cyclists it saw on the way and when not 'on hire' cruise around to check up on any roads not recently photographed.

When the eco warriors finally wake up to the fact that the real problem is overpopulation the driverless car will be able to take unsuspecting non essential people to the power station.

I need a 4wd vehicle,high low transfer box, high towing capacity,for my hobby --stationary engines, in recent years a manual Discovery 3 was a disaster,unreliable ,manual g/box which I prefer was a nightmare in conjunction with an electric hanbrake which is either on,and I mean full on or off,a nightmare with a heavy trailer going up hill in stop start traffic,a manual handbrake can be held just on to prevent rolling back,let the cluch in and it takes off,with just a little bit of handbrake held on until the drive takefully up, the electric brake takes too long to release and and makes drivind smoothly difficult. Next a Nissan ,a manual good motor until yiu tow a trailer worst trailer tower I have owned in over 50 years,ultimatum from the other half,get a new Discovery 4,I was a bit reluctant as it was only available with auto g/box,never owned an auto before,and had only driven my mother aut austin 1100 many years ago MOT and back,awful car. I got used to the Discovery auto surprisingly quickly,it is superb with a trailer no risk of running back going uphill and do not use the hand brake in normal driving.But and a big but despite it being made by land rover it is b---y awful off road ,it would be a lot better with manual box ,with a manual you can pick the right gear for the conditions and hold that gear for the best wheelgrip ,my old manual v8 mk1 range rover was far far better off rd I can understand why a lot of drivers still prefer manual,lot better in tricky conditions,more likely to go expensivly go wrong, though I can see after 10 years of a multi gear auto why they are like by far more drivers particularly in dense traffic. years ago autos were usually 3 speed,a bit clunky ,cost more and used a lot more petrol,plus did noget good prices when trading in. One annoyance with my discovery auto is the hassle involved to get the g/box oil changed,or I should say partially changed as unless the box is completely dismantled it is impossible to completely change the oil,all that can be done is drain the oil ,then refill ,run so that the new oil mixes with some of the oil thats left in the box,then drain again and refill,plus draining on the discovery involves removing a chassis crossmember to drop the bottom pan to get at the oil filter,or buy an after market pan which saves disturbing the cross member,plus its best to go to a specialist,as getting the fill wrong would be vey expensive,

Yes, they are worth it - does not matter to me how expensive to repair - it doesn't fail.

Not much more expensive to buy and not much more expensive on fuel but, FOR ME, worth it.

The reason we have manual gearboxes is because we know how to drive.

OK I,ll get my coat

And the most important reason of course, because you are too damned old to drive safely. I've reached the point already where I don't like driving at night if I can avoid it and it's only down hill from here....

(Just to brighten everyone's day!!)  

IanT

Edited By IanT on 06/12/2019 09:39:06

I do a lot of towing and there is nothing worse than an automatic when you are on a muddy slippery field, you need to feel what the car is doing and that cant be done without a clutch otherwise the wheels spin up and make things worse, a manual box everytime for me.

Martin P

Previous car was automatic only the second that I have owned. Didn't really want it but my wife liked it. Now back with a proper gearbox with 6 gears. Did like overdrive when I had a car with it.

Toeing and heeling, anyone?

Neil

Quite agree been on many rally fields towing a caravan

I got a chance to drive a Land Rover Freelander at a test track near Honiton in Devon. It was automatic, and had a number of push button options for driving on slippery surfaces. I was impressed at the difference gained just by pushing a button. I drove it down a 1:3 slope covered in loose pebbles and dirt, completely safely and commented to the instructor that I would not have been happy riding my Beamish Suzuki down there.

Edited By old mart on 06/12/2019 20:06:21

Discussions about cars are always the same so it's best to maintain a sense of humour. You get the 'experts' who've never had an automatic tearing them apart. You get people who have tried them many year's ago and preferred a manual, and you get owners of modern automatics singing their praises.

I've owned many automatics since the '60's and definitely know which I prefer. I've towed boats and a caravan and never experienced the problems other's have mentioned here. Rover 3500 pulling a boat up a wet slipway....no problem. 2.9 and 3 litre Granadas towing a caravan on many difficult camp sites.....no problem, and the modern 8 speed sport auto box which I have now really does behave itself in snow (not that we get much nowadays).

Modern boxes learn your style of driving and select the optimum gear for the right condition. Mine also works with the sat nav and selects the right ratio before entering a corner. With 8 to choose from the change is usually quite undetectable.

Modern roads are so cluttered with umpteen signs, heavy traffic, pedestrians and cyclists....auto boxes really do reduce the workload and make life so much easier! For those who have never driven one I highly recommend a trial. But there are always those who resist any change, maybe they still use a starting handle?

Edited By RMA on 06/12/2019 20:34:00

Once EV’s have largely taken over, Young’s folks will say “what’s a gearbox Dad”?!

RMA,

There is one thing that you forgot to point out and that is some of us will never be able to own and drive an eight speed auto sport and have to give our experiences based on what we can afford to drive, me included.

Martin P