Our muscle cars we have today of course have allot of new things for safety, but we focus so much on them because our insurance companies control allot of it, that we will have have the same drivers on the roads as I did as a fresh driver. Most of our new drivers wi never know how to maintain a car without a quote from the dash. Or know how to feel a car when driving , really driving the vehicle. Allot of cars pick the drive , one of my favorites as a young man was the Monte , but I have favorites from all out big three . And we wonder why we have cgi in movies now , long gone are the days of the dukes , vanishing point, black dog , starsky and hutch. New cars still that from use and more.

 

Yeh, I kinda get what you are saying, I owned a 2014 Cadillac c.t.s., very nice car, but sold it to get a 2002 corvette, the corvette was short lived
sold it and bought a 1988 m.c. s.s., owned a 87 m.c. s.s. before and missed it, like the feel of the older cars more.

 

There's a war on cars. Even if you know how to do your own maintenance there seems to be a faction of anti-car people that won't let you work on a car in the street or in an apartment's carport. Then remember to properly dispose of any fluids. Core charges used to be just for getting rebuild-able parts back, it kept the cost down. Now they are a bait to return environmentally sensitive junk. Used to find uses for old tires and batteries, now you need to return them, Soon there may be deposits on coolant or oil.

Some drivers will expect the car to do everything and they will obey it's commands to visit the sanctioned dealership for a $600 oil change, expect it to stop and steer under rough and or slippery road conditions. Advice - drive a clunker for awhile. Return driver ed to schools. Maintaining your car was part of the class back in the 70s.

Manual transmissions are rare on new cars, not because of the lack of knowledgeable drivers but because of the safety and emissions requirements. Can't let a human pick the correct gear or throttle position now can we?

Favorites I've owned - 77 Ranchero. 2006 Monte Carlo, 1979 280ZX.

Good movie list - add the original Gone In 60 Seconds for me.

 

I totally agree with you, people are being brain washed into believing they have to bow to the stealerships for their car well being,
it's a scam, some people are not even aware they can go to the corner garage for an oil change,instead of having a simple service
done by a competent small business owner.

 

Yep a manual transmission is getting harder and harder to find. My current "toy" is a 2008 Bullitt Mustang. It was only available with a 5 speed. No automatic transmission option. Ford now offers a 2019/20 Bullitt Mustang. Again, only available with manual transmission. The may be one of the last vehicles that is only available with a manual transmission. Meanwhile, as I get older, I am starting to appreciate the automatic, especially with today's traffic issues.

 

Insurance companies may have lobbying power to influence changes, but they have no direct control at all. That's all done by our laws via our elected officials. Although to be fair, its hard for an elected official to vote against changes that have a proven positive impact on safety just for the sake of maintaining the status quo of old cars.

Unfortunately another byproduct of our elected officials decisions. Increased regulation on emissions and fuel economy have driven the changes and caused the additional complication. Luckily older cars are still readily available on the used market: theres just not a lot of people who would willingly trade ease of maintenance for less power and much worse gas mileage.

Out of curiosity, what uses did you have for bad batteries and tires? At the rate we go through tires in my family, I cant imagine what I'd do with that pile of garbage tires.

Any sources to back up that statement? First I've ever heard it, that's all.

IMO, I really believe it's the buying public that's driving them away. If you look at US sales figures for cars with both options, the automatics almost always outsell manuals by a wide margin. It's a tough business proposition to continue to offer something that isnt selling well.

Sports cars used to reinforce that point with their significantly higher proportion of manual sales and higher proportion of manual offerings. Unfortunately that market is dying as well as manuals are becoming less and less competitive for anything outside of 'the experience'. I really dont think it has anything to do with not letting the user choose their gear as most sports car autos and dual clutch transmissions offer paddle shifters for you to still pick the gear you want - just much more quickly and consistently than a manual.

 

In my not so refined family, tires were swings, planters, towing cushions, lake dock bumpers, riverbank erosion prevention, other rednecky uses. What would I do if a friend called me up and said he needed a tair' and I told him I left them at the tair' store he'd think I went green or something.

Batteries get rejuvenated and and sold. Or handed down to the little brother who had a battery worse than the used one - you know, has a lag screw for a negative post and one cell that is cracked on the side.

I remember some engine/transmission combos not allowed in California. I think most cars are now 50 state emission certified so whatever restrictions CA has you all get them. Controlling the emissions is way easier when those pesky humans are not involved.

 

Sounds like you've got a lot of uses for them! I was just thinking over the last decade, we've probably generated 30-40 scrap tires between wear outs, unfixable damage, and dry rot damage. Given the tiny yard at our house, I think I'd have a hard time even finding uses for a fraction of them.

I guess my point was more that I dont think that's related to the demise of manual transmissions. Shiftable automatics and dual clutch transmissions are much more common now, so people can still choose their gear. If it was an emission thing, I'd think they'd not include the paddle shift ability.

 

What about "curling" your not so bright friend into one and sending him down the hill?.

 

Call me a conspiracy theorist. To me paddle shifters are nothing but extensions of PRND321 selector on the column or console. Here's one - what cars have some automatic crash/pedestrian avoidance system, got to be Volvo, right? If the car was a manual how would it work if it could not 'shift' and brake to keep from running over an obstacle? Safety patrol at work there - taking away simple pleasure so the driver cannot run down a assassin standing in the road ready to shoot you.