By the Numbers: The slow death of the manual transmission

Just like the trend toward SUVs in the United States throughout the 2000s, there’s another major shift happening that seems unstoppable. Automatic transmissions have become the standard in many markets, threatening the survival of manual transmission cars.

In 2001, almost every passenger car registered in the five major European markets—Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and Spain—had a manual transmission. Data shows that, at that time, cars with manual transmissions accounted for 91 percent of registrations in those five markets. This type of transmission was more popular than the automatic, even among premium and luxury brands.

At that time, the technology was not nearly as advanced as it is today, so high development costs had a direct impact on the final price, and the automatic transmission was more of a luxury feature than anything.

However, as has been the case with airbags and other automotive technologies, gradual adoption has helped reduce cost and price. With traffic growing in large cities and drivers more preoccupied than ever, the automatic transmission is quickly becoming the answer to the new reality.

Last year, cars with manual transmissions accounted for only 29 percent of registrations in the five major European markets. The breakdown between mainstream and premium brands also shows major changes.

In 2001, premium cars with automatic transmissions accounted for 31 percent of sales. By 2024, they reached 97 percent. As for mainstream brands, the change is just as dramatic: The market share of automatic transmission increased from 5 percent in 2001 to 63 percent last year.

Read the rest here.

A great car ad from the land of long ago

Great advert for a great car. No frills transportation at its best. Look up "four wheels and an engine" and this is what you will find. Amenities? Power... nothing (unless you count the headlights, turn signals and the AM radio). Not even power breaks or steering. You got a work out driving those things. You felt every bump in the road and heard all the noise. The engine gave you 50-60hp depending on the year and model. Yes, you could drive them on the highway. It just might take a minute to get up to normal speed. The heater sucked. AC? That's what the hand crank on the door was for.

But they ran, and they ran surprisingly well. They were generally more reliable than most other cars of that era. In a time when people often swapped cars every few years, these could easily last 100k miles if you took care of them. And when things did go wrong, they were some of the easiest vehicles to repair. The VW Beetle (or Analog as I like to call them) were one of the most mass produced vehicles in history. The German version of the Ford Model T, with roughly the same level of comfort and engineering. And they were also highly affordable. You could pick one up in the early 70s for ~$2,000.  In an era characterized by the famous gas guzzling land yachts from Detroit, these gave you an almost unheard of ~30mpg on the highway and low to mid 20s in town. 

Even today, there are plenty still around and running. Many can be had for under $20,000. All you need is a key, the ability to drive an old school manual (4 on the floor), and a basic level of mechanical skills with a good tool set and a few spare parts. Some people still use them as daily drivers.

Car humor

The sad thing is that there is an entire generation of people who won't get the joke.

Now this is depressing

I've never seen the point in an automatic transmission. Where is the fun? Sure, it will get you from point A to point B. But so will a bus.

Quote of the day...

Me: GM says they are only going to make electric cars by 2035. When do you think you will consider buying an EV?

My friend Ben: Can you get one with a clutch and stick shift?

For Sale: Packard

A Packard 12 Concept Car

No, that’s not a typo, it’s Packard that’s for sale, not “a Packard.”

Did you know that there are holding companies that specialize in reviving what are known as “distressed brands,” which is to say, brand names that due to either corporate error or neglect are no longer top-shelf goods? That’s because brand equity lasts forever. There are hundreds of millions of people born after 1966, when the nameplate was last attached to newly assembled automobiles (in either Canada or Israel, it’s a complicated story), who recognize the name Studebaker. Likewise, although the Beatles’ hairstyles may have made men’s hair products uncool for half a century, plenty of baby boomers remember Brylcreem and its slogan, “A little dab’ll do ya!” People also still remember the humorous Burma Shave roadside signs, which may mean there’s an opportunity to be had; that brand’s longtime competitor, Barbasol, has been rejuvenated and is now a market leader.

Read the rest here.

Japan plans to phase out gasoline cars

TOKYO—Japan said it planned to stop the sale of new gasoline-powered cars by the mid-2030s, bucking criticism by Toyota Motor Corp.’s chief that a rapid shift to electric vehicles could cripple the car industry.

The plan released Friday followed similar moves by the state of California and major European nations, but it has faced resistance from auto executives in a country that still makes millions of cars annually that run solely on gasoline engines.

Japan would still permit the sale of hybrid gas-electric cars after 2035 under the plan. Many models from Japan’s top car makers—Toyota, Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co. —come in both traditional and hybrid versions.

Earlier this month, Toyota President Akio Toyoda said that if Japan banned gasoline-powered cars and moved to electric vehicles too hastily, “the current business model of the car industry is going to collapse.” He was speaking on behalf of Japanese auto makers in his role as head of a local industry association.

Mr. Toyoda said the electricity grid couldn’t handle extra summer demand and observed that most of Japan’s electricity is generated by burning fossil fuels.

Government officials said car makers needed to revise their business models. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga pointed to a different portion of Mr. Toyoda’s comments in which the Toyota chief said he backed the government’s goal of making Japan carbon-neutral by 2050. Reducing carbon emissions “should be tackled as a strategy for growth, not as a limitation on growth,” Mr. Suga said.

Read the rest here.

One of the main problems with electric cars

My 2¢...

•  Electric cars are the future. Like it or not, this is probably the last generation (give or take) of Americans who will be mainly accustomed to driving cars powered with gas fueled internal combustion engines. However, before electric cars (EV) take over the highways a few things are going to need to happen first.
• Range needs to improve. The better EVs are now getting effective driving ranges in excess of 300 miles. But EVs with that kind of range are still well outside of affordable for the average American. And while that's certainly an improvement, most of us are going to want a car with a range closer to 400 miles before seriously considering it. Long distance driving with the shorter ranged EVs is still possible but it would take a lot longer given the constant need to make prolonged stops for charging.
• The auto industry needs to get their act together and standardize the charging systems for their cars and make it more like current gas stations with a pull in, swipe your plastic, and fuel up system. Not everybody is a tech geek who has more apps on their phone than reactionaries like me have fiat currency bills in our wallet.
• Charging times need to be drastically reduced at the various commercial charging stations. I think we are probably at least ten years from the point where you will be able to fully charge an EV in 15 minutes or less. Until then I am probably not interested.
• EVs with decent range and mechanical reliability need to come down in price. The Tesla S (widely regarded as among the best of the longer ranged EVs) starts at around $80k and you can easily drop closer to $100k if you add on a few things. By contrast you can get a Tesla Model 3 for slightly under half that price. But again, these cars are not well suited for long distance road trips, especially those that would take multiple days using a gas fueled car. 

So yeah, I acknowledge that the future probably belongs to electric cars, but we have a ways to go before most people are going to be comfortable with it. 

A lesson in humility

From here.

Lincoln is bringing back "suicide" doors

2019 Lincoln Continental

I can't remember the last time I saw a car with rear hinged doors. Now I'm just waiting for the return of running boards and hood ornaments.

A Relic from the Golden Age of Hollywood

The 1951 Cadillac Series 75 formal limousine (coachwork by Delmar) of the late Hollywood costume designer Edith Head. Over the course of her career she won eight(!) Academy Awards for costume design beginning in 1949 with The Heiress and ending in 1973 with The Sting (a personal favorite).

Take a look at The Young Fogey's car

Friend of the blog The Young Fogey has posted photos of his very cool auto. We may disagree on religion and his predilection for conspiracy theories, but we are both cultural and social reactionaries trapped in the wrong time.

You may color me green with envy.

GQ Magazine eat your heart out

Introducing the 1926 man and car of the year.

For Sale

Sometimes I think the internet is one giant garage sale. But the prices can be a little steep. A random look at things for sale found two of possible interest to reactionaries like me...

One 1929 Cadillac Fleetwood Transformable Limousine, possibly the last of its design. Asking price $250,000. Oh yeah it was also the official limo and parade car for President Herbert Hoover.
See here for the listing and more photos. Home Jeeves!

One 12th century Bavarian castle complete with moat. It's been renovated to make it quite liveable while retaining much of its medieval and military ambiance. Asking price $7.4 million. See here for details and more photos.

Is this the end of the stick shift?

Go to any given dealership with 100 new cars.

On average, just four of the 2012 models will have manual gearboxes.

The trend of the vanishing third pedal is nothing new, notes The Detroit News.

Even a decade ago, just 8.5 percent of 2002 models were manuals. The paper’s own automotive reporter even confesses she never learned to drive a stick shift until it essentially became a job requirement.

It’s more than a little contradictory to automotive reviews (including many you’ll read here) extolling the pleasure of enthusiastic driving with a true manual gearbox. Likewise, purists gravitate to manuals for tackling their favorite twisting road or occasional track day. It’s the original form of in-car connectivity.

Read: 10 fuel sipping classics

But everyday life for most isn’t about testing new cars on tracks or winding highways. It’s stop-and-go commuting and running errands; pretty mundane stuff by comparison. One serious traffic jam can numb the left legs of manual drivers and give cause to reconsider.

Read the rest here.

Ford posts best first-quarter profit in 13 years

DETROIT (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co reported its best first-quarter profit since 1998 as higher prices for redesigned vehicles including its small Fiesta offset pressure from spiking commodity and oil prices.

Ford's better-than-expected profit, and strongest first-quarter since the peak of the SUV boom, reassured investors after a disappointing fourth quarter.

It also showed the success the No. 2 U.S. automaker has had in getting consumers to pay more for improved quality and technology in vehicles like the Focus compact.

Ford also said on Tuesday that it expected to ride out the disruption in parts supplies from Japan with a minimal effect on its production in Asia, setting the automaker up to take market share from Japanese rivals.

Read the rest here.

The Packard: Strictly for lovers of the classic auto

A 1928 Packard

IN a world of interactive, Imax-enhanced, iPod-guided automotive museums, the relatively modest historical collection here may hardly seem worth a visit. But America’s Packard Museum on Ludlow Street is something different, and decidedly worthwhile: it is not a re-creation, but an authentic artifact of the history of the Packard Motor Car Company.

What began as the city’s premier Packard dealership, then lay dormant for decades, is now a center for all things Packard — parts, restoration information and, above all, exceptional examples of the luxury brand.

Housed in a proto-Deco building designed by the architect Albert Kahn and built in 1917, the Citizens Motorcar Company was also part of the official Packard distributorship for much of the Midwest. Like a movie set, the sales offices around the high-ceiling showroom have the look of a dealership still in business, an impression reinforced by the 20-foot-tall neon Packard sign outside and the array of cars visible through the expansive windows. Period furniture, black telephones, sales brochures, a well-worn briefcase and even an early Dictaphone complete the setting.

Read the rest here and see photos of some truly wonderful old cars.