In 10 Years The Art Of Shifting Gears Will Be Lost

You might have seen an online video of Texan speed merchants Hennessey running their Venom GT up to 270mph on the 3.2-mile runway at Kennedy Space Center. It’s a remarkable piece of footage, not least because they found someone with the solid brass kahunas to max a 7-litre, twin-turbo, 1244bhp V8 in the middle of a hacked-about Exige. In case you’re wondering, this extraordinary man went by the extraordinary name of Brian Smith.

The Americans claimed Brian’s heroic endeavour as a Bugatti-baiting world record, but a Guinness entry requires an average from two runs in opposite directions and NASA wouldn’t let Hennessey turn around and go t’other way. This was because there was expensive hardware at that end of the tarmac and they didn’t want it damaged by flying bits of ex-Exige. It’s embarrassing to cancel a mission because the lander has been compromised by a burning Vauxhall column stalk.

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jeffgall - 8/30/2017 8:01:09 AM

+8 Boost

Such a shame

MDarringer - 8/30/2017 9:01:27 AM

-8 Boost

If you watched Top Gear American with Haley Joel Osment who roasted the clutch in the Civic because the moron could not drive a stick, then we have an example of the self-imposed helplessness of people who refuse to learn how to drive a stick shift. Why they had the fat, ugly drug addict on in the first place baffles me, but then all of their celebrity guests are douchebags.

That said, automatics have first gotten as fast as sticks and then faster at shifting, so they are actually better for the performance driver. Sure, be a Luddite old man with crusty nuts and bitch about it, but the outcome is a certainty.

TomM - 8/30/2017 2:45:39 PM

0 Boost

The title is Incorrect - I am sure that YOU will still be around shifting gears - and there will be LOTS of others.

MDarringer - 8/30/2017 9:14:37 PM

-7 Boost

I will drive a stick because I have cars that are stick shifts. While I have not driven the new TVR--OBVIOUSLY--I do know that in TVRs goal in returning to the USA would be to offer an automatic option. That would most likely be the Mustang's 10 speed with flippers. It really would not surprise me if the 2018 Mustang GT automatic is faster than the stick.

carloslassiter - 8/30/2017 9:11:49 AM

-1 Boost

The art of shifting gears? In 10 years the art of turning a steering wheel will be lost.

qwertyfla - 8/30/2017 11:03:29 AM

+6 Boost

The art and pleasure of driving is slowly starting to be stripped away (much like our personal rights too) as self driving aids emerge, electronic enforcement proliferates and 3rd party monitoring becomes the norm. ABS brakes were the beginning of the end.

While you are at it please take my man card too as I am sure the precious little snowflake generation finds it offensive or racist somehow.

Holydude - 8/30/2017 11:43:05 AM

-1 Boost

As the horse and buggy has been lost 100+ years, that's technology advancement for you!

countguy - 8/30/2017 12:50:00 PM

0 Boost

PDK type transmission are the best for performance cars.

zlives - 8/30/2017 5:31:26 PM

+1 Boost

just as manual watches have disappeared after the 80's Casio?!!!

carloslassiter - 8/30/2017 5:45:41 PM

-5 Boost

I'm sure there were people complaining when the front crank was replaced by the electric starter motor.

vdiv - 8/30/2017 6:26:33 PM

-3 Boost

Yeah, they were all reading AutoSpies back then... ;)

PUGPROUD - 8/30/2017 8:21:20 PM

+7 Boost

There is something special with a manual that connects man to machine. No longer faster but in everyday driving very engaging. I have two and plan to keep one as long as Im this good earth. Old school...yes! But great fun and entertaining on back roads.

TheSteve - 8/30/2017 8:54:49 PM

0 Boost

I've driven a stick for years, and loved it. I can sympathize with those who enjoy the experience. Other things that have died out in cars:
- Manually adjusting spark advance/retarding
- Manually adjusting carburetor richness
- Changing a flat tire during any lengthy drive
- Having to check the oil with every fill-up, and usually putting in a quart

As a guy who has loved and driven manual transmissions for decades, I'm on my first automatic (8-speed), and I have to say, I love it. Should I be able to afford the Porsche 911 of my dreams, it'll have a PDK (dual-clutch auto).

For stick enthusiasts: Sorry for your loss (no sarcasm intended).

CANADIANCOMMENTS - 8/30/2017 11:18:11 PM

+2 Boost

I would be interested in the data. If all active US drivers were polled how many in 2017 can drive a car with a manual transmission? 50%? 25%? 10%?

MDarringer - 8/30/2017 11:44:01 PM

-1 Boost

I'd guess 10% or less.

skytop - 8/30/2017 11:49:19 PM

+3 Boost

I bought my first high performance car with an 8 speed automatic. The auto is way faster than the manual but in truth, it is not as much fun to drive. Not that I am disappointed. The auto is quite convenient, very smart, seems to always know what gear I need and shift lightning fast in 800 milliseconds.
I will miss my last car that had a stick with that gorgeous black 8 ball shift knob.

carloslassiter - 8/31/2017 7:17:47 AM

0 Boost

"I'd guess 10% or less."

I agree. And of those that can, the average age is probably 55 and rising.

MDarringer - 8/31/2017 8:27:00 AM

+1 Boost

The age thing isn't a logical inference. Young guys go after the GT86, GTI, Focus ST/RS, Mustang GT, etc. The percent taking manuals is tiny simply because of the volume of sales. The fact is that the demons inside automatics have been purged to the point that for sport, they are now equal or better than a stick. I'll bet that sales of the Shelby Mustang GT350 will increase significantly with the automatic option.

MDarringer - 8/31/2017 8:27:02 AM

+1 Boost

PUGPROUD - 8/31/2017 10:09:02 AM

0 Boost

Went to a hand car wash today and had to move my C7 from station to station because no one working there knew how to drive a manual transmission car. Sign of the times.

dstampfer - 8/31/2017 12:30:09 PM

+2 Boost

Seems like we get to post about this topic every few weeks now. I have a new question for anyone that knows. I was under the impression that DCT/PDK automatically shifted "manual transmissions" had some advantage over torque converter automatics in terms of energy transfer and speed of shifts and were thus offered in performance oriented vehicles. I just learned that the new BMW M5 will not use a DCT transmission as offered in other M vehicles, but instead have a torque converter automatic. Can anyone explain this from an engineering perspective and has technology now progressed to the point that a true automatic is the "best" performance option?

PUGPROUD - 8/31/2017 1:23:20 PM

+1 Boost

A torque converter has three main advantages...can handle greater torque at lower rpms, is lighter and is more reliable. Big AMG engines use torque converters because their engines are torque monsters. Dual clutches first became available in smaller displacement engines for their benefits...quicker shifts and better gas mileage. VW's and Porsches rely more on high revs and less on low end torque. With the M5 moving further up in performance (torque & power) the torque converter transmission deemed mor appropriate. Hope this helps.

dstampfer - 9/1/2017 8:23:48 AM

0 Boost

Thanks PUGPROUD