More and more Automatics on the road?

some fleets are going automatic, to get better fuel mileage for one. many newbies cannot shift as it is now, and destroy transmissions/drive-lines. but so do some older drivers as well.

some owner operators order up an automatic.

so it's what ever the buyer wants, and the factories try to appease the customers

 

They're multiplying like rabbits.
My first 4mil miles were in a manual.. and then the company I'm with went with autos.
Supposedly for fuel economy and component wear and tear reduction (no driving SOBs tear out clutches).
My pride stung for a while.. but I got over it.
It's nice in traffic.
In icy weather, you need the ability to to flip it into MANUAL control so YOU can control the shift. Also for downgrades.

Now, the only downside I really see is in the rare occasion One may get stuck and need to rock it out with a fwd/back fwd/back motion.
You're not gonna accomplish that with one of these turds.

 

Getting stuck is exactly what gets inexperienced drivers in trouble with a stick and causing shock load damage to expensive to replace driveline components. Autos with traction control are trying to use the ABS to gain traction and yes for an experienced driver this is beyond annoying. If your stuck you should be calling a tow instead of spinning your way out, especially if its not your equipment.

 

Most cdl training now is auto only. You need to pay extra for manual training. Stupid is as stupid does. Garbage belongs in the trash. The whole trucking industry is going double down on stupidity instead of training drivers the right way. And or paying enough to attract a driver that is not from a 3rd world country.

 

FFE bought the first automatics about the 2000 year to put people fresh CDL's without meaningful shifting skills so she can push a button select D and drive off no fuss. (And for me it was a change and was her trainer too.) took me weeks to accept the truck did not have a stick. Espeically when I realized the engineers tuned the automatic to downshift when working hard as I reach to do the downshift myself. And it has a manual mode to redline the jacobs all day downgrade in any weather. On ice if she and did slip towards a jackknife the transmission maintained power to the wheels following the truck down in gears until we caught tire traction and applied power. Whatever the situation in binary form that throttle sent to the engine instantly became a correct gear in torque and the drives bit correctly on that ice we slipped on. Number two got it back like we did but three though seven fell into the canyon.

Todays automatics I deem overcooked. Need satellite terrain information to shift at 3 to 5 ratio? Toss it. Over cooked BS. Need a coast mode? Toss that too. No manual at all? Toss it. (Mode) keep it simple. No clutch pedal? toss that too. The whole truck for a traditional three pedal set up.

Robots? Toss the people. Throw away everything associated with HR and Payroll. Pour the savings into rescuing the poor bricked robot 2000 miles away during a WY shutdown.

 

From what I am hearing kenworth and other manufacturers are going with the auto as standard equipment, pretty quick if you want a standard you will have to spec it with one.

 

Modern truck operation by driver.
Driver: Turn key to on wait for lights than turn to start engine. Put in drive gear, push go pedal.

Truck to driver: Calm down driver I'm checking with corporate about this. Let me get back to you on that.

Driver: Finally starts moving going onto highway at speed but needs to slow in a hurry, and turns Jake's on full.

Truck: What are you doing? I am on union break right now. Hold on a darn minute.

Driver: Turns off Jake's yet they are still working untill he taps the go pedal.

Truck: Hey driver stop rushing me or I will report you to corporate. Are we clear?

 

I drive an automatic. I've also driven everything other than a dual stick or older.

Automatic in traffic jams is simply amazing. 18 speed with constant heavy loads and hard pulls is amazing. 13 speed in a hilly area not many mountains but a few is amazing. Each have they're own place and own pros and cons.

Co are moving towards auto mostly because of cost to maintain and ease of training. Clutch adjustment is easy to do with 2 people but can constantly cost some $60-$100 or more depending where ya go. And this the minor cost.

Anyone can choose what to have as a transmission when they buy their own truck. But if ya a co driver, autos are not so bad. Especially when compared to the first round of autos that came out long long ago.

Hope this helps.