Any driving instructors? (future cars)

[Entai]

This is from the DT1 form given to DSA examiners and this is what the official guidelines state regarding automatic transmissions:

6.8 VEHICLES WITH AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
A vehicle with automatic transmission is defined in regulations as `A vehicle in which the gear ratio between the engine and the wheels can be varied only by the use of the accelerator or brakes'.

SEMI-AUTOMATIC SYSTEMS
With these the driver has to select the gear required by movement of the gear lever as with a manually controlled gearbox, but there is no clutch pedal. For driving test and licensing purposes these vehicles are regarded as automatics.


In general a vehicle without a manual clutch is regarded as an automatic, any vehicle with a clutch pedal is regarded as a manual gearbox.

 

[Nasher]

Unless you physically can't use a manual, theres no reason not to do a manual licence. Not being allowed to drive manuals restricts you quite a lot in what you can drive.

Plus it's good to get to know how to FULLY control a car. When I started learning many cars didn't even have ABS, which meant you needed to know how to do an emergency stop without leaving a big 11 in the road.

 

[Dr Who]

Does an auto license allow use of a semi-auto gearbox? I know its a stupid question, but arent there some that use a clutch pedal but arent quite fully manual (i hope that makes sense as re-reading it i'm not sure).

A semi-auto is an Auto (on the V5) if it doesn't have a clutch pedal.

Eventually we will become like the US, you pass your test in an Auto and you can drive a manual anyway. This won't happen until manuals are rare though, again, like the US.

100% agree with Clarkey, and almost every auto has a manual gear selector so all the comments about being unable to prepare for a junction etc are pretty much null and void. Modern gearboxes are also much better at anticipating/reacting anyway.

 

[adolf hamster]

By getting to the point I don’t mean tomorrow, I mean in 10 years time when quite possibly the majority of new cars sold will be hybrids/electric.

Fair point, there will be a transition for sure when manuals become the rarity

 

[Psycho Sonny]

I've mixed views on it as while I'm not the biggest fan of manual - I find with manual I'm looking at the road ahead more and thinking more about the road conditions due to making decisions over gear changes. When driving automatic I tend to be much more going with the flow and more towards reactive to change rather than pro-active.

With a manual I find I'm more focused on gear changing than the road. In an automatic I can drive a hell of a lot better and faster too as a result as I don't need to think about anything other than accelerate, brake and steering.

When you take away 1 task it gives more focus to the others. So you work weird. How do you reckon you would do if you had to now press a button every 5 seconds on top of a manual? I know I could do that more easily in an automatic car as I have more time on my hands.

Your just being lazy in an automatic

 

[Psycho Sonny]

thing is it limits your ability to choose cars, there's still a lot of manual cars in the uk and it'd be silly to ignore the bulk of the secondhand market unless you were forced to (eg by disability)

less of a concern now IMO. if you did a automatic only test then got an auto car. by the time you come to replace it. 3-5 years time. there will be a lot more automatics in the market. then once that is gone the majority will be automatics in 6-10 years time.

you can already see electric cars filtering into the second hand market at a rapid rate. in the future they will be everywhere.

 

[Rroff]

With a manual I find I'm more focused on gear changing than the road. In an automatic I can drive a hell of a lot better and faster too as a result as I don't need to think about anything other than accelerate, brake and steering.

When you take away 1 task it gives more focus to the others. So you work weird. How do you reckon you would do if you had to now press a button every 5 seconds on top of a manual? I know I could do that more easily in an automatic car as I have more time on my hands.

Your just being lazy in an automatic

After you've driven awhile the process of changing gear itself becomes largely automated thinking wise - we'll for many people - not everyone processes things in the same way - hence your accusation of lazy misses the mark.

Its like the difference between "looking and seeing" the extra directed process of analysing the road ahead for gear changes can also mean you are breaking down what you are looking at better but for some people it might not be the case.

 

[Deleted member 66701]

I think a good number still think of automatic as that thing that you sit there for 5 seconds wondering if its going to change or gets it wrong when you need the power on a roundabout, etc. etc.

I don't think that's been true for autos for the last 20 years though, esp when the slush boxes got electronic control circa 1995. Even my old '98 Scorpio Cosworth and Lexus LS400 with their slush boxes weren't like that.

 

[theone8181]

I don't think that's been true for autos for the last 20 years though, esp when the slush boxes got electronic control circa 1995. Even my old '98 Scorpio Cosworth and Lexus LS400 with their slush boxes weren't like that.

I drove a mustang that was relatively new on my honeymoon in florida 5 years ago. It was appalling, some of it may have been to do with the wimpy engine but it really was a case of put foot down wait 5 seconds before the car responds. If you had to overtake on a single carriageway it would be downright dangerous.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

I drove a mustang that was relatively new on my honeymoon in florida 5 years ago. It was appalling, some of it may have been to do with the wimpy engine but it really was a case of put foot down wait 5 seconds before the car responds. If you had to overtake on a single carriageway it would be downright dangerous.

Small engine and ford. There is your issue right there. Accelerating in a manual with a small engine isn't fun either.

Don't have any problems accelerating in an automatic Z4 3.0, even a 14-15 year old one.

 

[Deleted member 66701]

Small engine and ford. There is your issue right there. Accelerating in a manual with a small engine isn't fun either.

Don't have any problems accelerating in an automatic Z4 3.0, even a 14-15 year old one.

Ah that's true, I've never really driven a small engined auto. My 1987 Sierra was a 2.0i with an auto but I swapped the box out for a manual within a month, so didn't have time to form an opinion really.

 

[FlakGunna]

I'm surprised people go for manual even today, manual is super old fashioned really.

Love manual, more feeling of control.

 

[Nasher]

Depends on the kind of car. I wouldn't buy an auto sports car for instance because it removes a large part of the experience. But I'd have an auto Merc, partly because their manuals were never any good

 

[Clarkey]

Love manual, more feeling of control.

Ever owned an auto? I found that initially, but you get over it pretty quickly, and after a couple of weeks the very idea of shifting gears has completely disappeared out of your mind.

 

[Orionaut]

Ah that's true, I've never really driven a small engined auto. My 1987 Sierra was a 2.0i with an auto but I swapped the box out for a manual within a month, so didn't have time to form an opinion really.

Ahh, those were the days, it was dead easy to do major mods back in the day...

This is how i view it, i can imagine my grandchildren if i have any, saying something like you learnt to drive a manual car, you use to control it all? Wow..... that sound dangerous!

I can imagine your grand children expressing surprise that people ever actually owned stuff instead of renting everything, expressing surprise that people did their own cooking, expressing surprise that people actually lived in their own homes instead of corporate/state owned dormitories with communal dining halls and expressing surprise that we were still able to spend our money without the state knowing in great detail the full details of every single purchase...

I am glad I will not be living long enough to see it...:/

 

[FlakGunna]

Ever owned an auto? I found that initially, but you get over it pretty quickly, and after a couple of weeks the very idea of shifting gears has completely disappeared out of your mind.

Yes I have and it was the most boring drive I've ever had in my life. Manual is more fun.

 

[theone8181]

Small engine and ford. There is your issue right there. Accelerating in a manual with a small engine isn't fun either.

Don't have any problems accelerating in an automatic Z4 3.0, even a 14-15 year old one.

It wasn't a small engine it was a 3.7litre v6 it just was **** with an auto box. This was the previous model mustang

 

[Nasher]

Ahh, those were the days, it was dead easy to do major mods back in the day...



I can imagine your grand children expressing surprise that people ever actually owned stuff instead of renting everything, expressing surprise that people did their own cooking, expressing surprise that people actually lived in their own homes instead of corporate/state owned dormitories with communal dining halls and expressing surprise that we were still able to spend our money without the state knowing in great detail the full details of every single purchase...

I am glad I will not be living long enough to see it...:/

It's going to be a society wrapped in bubble wrap, no fun allowed. All has to be done in VR. Also can't say anything to anyone in case you offend them and the police bash your front door in for it.

God forbid anyone get a bit sideways on a wet roundabout

I'm going to get to about 65, then go out with a bang. Because I sure as hell won't have a pension worth collecting by then lol

 

[Iamzod]

We own a 2.7 Grand Cherokee with an Auto box, it's horrific apart from in traffic and Off Road.

I've also drove a 2.4 5cyl Volvo V70 & a 2016 2.0 Audi A6 with an Auto box, didn't like any of them, it takes the fun away from driving for me.

 

[Dr Who]

Ever owned an auto? I found that initially, but you get over it pretty quickly, and after a couple of weeks the very idea of shifting gears has completely disappeared out of your mind.

Exactly, and you can run it in manual change if you want some excitement, many have paddle shift now, and the double clutch boxes are faf