(no subject)

[randomness]

Alas, as many of you have observed, I made a mistake on the poll I just posted and must repost the poll question. (LiveJournal does not allow polls to be edited.)

We apologize for the inconvenience.

[Poll #1521474]

Comments

[totient]

Manuals no longer have any edge in gas mileage

http://www.fueleconomy.gov tracks manual and automatic separately, and says that for gasoline engine cars, actually they do. Manual transmission cars also typically get a few more horsepower delivered to the wheels, because an automatic transmission will not come closer than about 500 rpm to the redline no matter how far the driver presses the pedal.

[jtdiii.livejournal.com]

Yes and these are the same studies that regularly have MPG readings 10-20% better than experienced by real drivers. If the test vehicles leave the smooth track and get into real world conditions the difference is minor and if you deal with stop and go city traffic, the manual soon loses any efficiency gains it might have on shifting.

[totient]

Most (*) cars that have both manual and automatic options have more gears and a higher top gear ratio available on the manual than on the automatic. Both of these things cause the car to get better gas mileage. It's not about the torque converter.

[totient]

(*) Most measured by number of cars sold, not by number of models; many models of luxury and sports car offer 6 speeds for both the manual and the automatic but there aren't a lot of these cars on the road.