[Outdated, please look at pinned post] Casual Conversation

Can't afford one

I have a 2017 vehicle with a manual transmission. It is probably one of the last of it's kind and I fully expect my next vehicle purchase to be an ICE vehicle or at least the next big alternative fuel source. I have always driven old Japanese stick shifts until recently, and I can't say I won't miss it, but the future is now old man. I hope to get another 10 years out of my current vehicle, so it'll at least be awhile.

My sole current hangup on getting an EV (other than my '80s 300zx is still running) is that they are trucks, SUVs, sedans, or micro city cars. I feel like the last time I looked there was one or two little hatchbacks on the horizon, but not really anything in production.

Also not a fan of the current prices of course, but there seems to be a "missing middle" of a small car with good handling. Maybe the e500 or something will be that, but not enthusiastic about that coming to the US, and would like to have some options.

FWIW I have driven several and really like one pedal driving, but they all feel so big.

Not now, no. I have concerns about long term cost, keep my cars forever, have nowhere to charge the thing, and do greatly enjoy a more analog driving experience.

I'll probably buy one eventually, but I will also probably be noticeably behind the curve on this particular trend. If nothing else, it will be time for my next new car before EVs really take over, and I'll (hopefully!) keep that car for a couple of decades.

When I bought my current car, I was looking for an electrical solution, but there was none. All tiny matchboxes on wheels, no space, no comfortable height to enter or leave the car for people with handycaps.

I have now seen the ID Buzz. Big enough? Just about. But it cost three times what I paid for my car, with half the options, and is butt ugly on top. As if it was designed to look horrible.

I had a manual for about 75k miles, mostly liked it, but have had an automatic since then (inheritence coming into play, free car = free car). I had a little Chevy Spark EV for about a year that was a joy. Honestly, not having to change gears at all is AWESOME. You don't think about the motion caused by even the best of manual shifts (let alone terrible CVT shifts) until it's not there. It's so much smoother to get up to speed and I loved it.

Waiting for battery tech to get a little better and running out my current car (Shoutouts to Toyota), then will be going back to an electric car.

I bought a hybrid honda civic last year which only has one gear, so no point in having manual transmission. Don't really miss it, although I always liked the extra control stick gives.

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a44211128/toyota-prototype-ev-sports-car-manual-transmission/

https://cars.usnews.com/cars-trucks/features/electric-manual-transmission

There are also a couple guys in Los Angeles that have been tinkering with converting older cars into EVs and some are made manual transmission as well

I kinda want to get an old 1986 SAAb 900 SPG and convert it to a manual EV

I've had several manual cars including 1998 Chevy Tracker (first car) 2017 Ford Fiesta ST (traded for a Lincoln towncar of all things) 1991 Ford F250 (still have)

I daily an electric Fiat 500, it's fine. I will say that when I hop on my motorcycle and bang through the gears it's briefly exciting but still slower/same speed as the lil Fiat.

Where I am, manuals have been difficult to get for the last few decades, so I gave it up. Actually I gave it up after spending too many hours sitting in traffic in a tunnel under Boston Harbor. Manuals may be a more satisfying driving experience but they sure became a hassle to find and to use

Since then, I’ve learned to appreciate other technologies for what they are. I’ll probably never like the traditional American land yacht automatic designed to just be cushy but there are plenty of sports sedans with outstanding, responsive automatics. I’ve also grown to appreciate the CVT in my Subaru: it’s a nice steady pull that is just always there and ready (CVTs got a bad name from from underpowered cars when the technology was new). But now I have a Tesla and wow! The instant torque and acceleration from any speed are out of this world , and the lack of engine noise makes it feel effortless. I’ll always love to feel the rumble of a big V8, but now it feels quaint, like that really cool steam engine in a museum. All that sound and fury, signifying nothing but noise and pollution.

Realistically the only transmission I hate (aside from traditional American land yacht automatics) is the fakes. Let me appreciate the transmission for what it does well, but when you add artificial shift points and fake noises, I’ll have none of that. I love my Subaru CVT but newer models have fake shift points, so no

Only if its a hybrid that uses capacitors and a high output engine that only charges the capacitors.

So you get like 30-60 seconds of continuous insane power that you can put to the wheels, but after that the engine has to recharge the capacitors and provide enough to barely accelerate at the speed of like a a big semi without a hefty engine.

The trick is since you're not always doing WOT, you can effectively get ridiculous performance and really good MPG so long as you treat your capacitors like a boost meter that recharges.

Regular hybrids already do this, but they use normal Li batteries which usually requires that the engine also be able to directly power the wheels which adds complexity and cost.

It's kind of like how the ships works in Elite Dangerous lol.

no.