Automatic Transmissions

They wont, I was stuck in one today and here is my story.

First time actually spending a decent amount of time in an auto:

Volvo 12 speed auto .... absolute garbage. Can't skip gears when empty, can't skip downshifting, MUST go though all gears or be kicked into neutral (no downshifting in "manual" mode), shifting is slooooooooooooooooooooooooooow, speeds 1 through 10 bring you to a whopping 58 km/h then 11-12 take you up to 105, needless to say the gearing is out of whack. Stop signs ... you actually have no choice but to do your one thousand one .... one thousand two and so on. Takes forever to pick up the proper gear and get you on your way.

I am never driving an auto again. I hate not having control. And for you people who claim better on fuel blah blah, my foot was right to the floor half the day (volvo = no power, add hills into the equation, reduce my gear range/options and control and there's no easy way of dealing with winding roads and hills) and the thing shifts at 2000 rpm on takeoff.

I was empty, with a standard I could have skipped the gears I didn't need and kept her under 1500.

 

I don't see automatics ever gaining more than about 20% of the North American market. Heavy hauls and oil field can't use automatics realistically, and as long as manuals are available, cheaper to buy and repair, and most drivers prefer them, manual transmissions are here to stay. I will never drive an auto of any sort.

 

I've driven both auto and manual. I prefer manual simply due to having more control and having more involvement with my driving. What is the major disadvantage for having an auto? I heard folks that run tankers don't like em.

 

When you've got a tank on your arse driving can change quite a bit relative to the amount of product in the tank, whether or not the tank has ballasts, how many as well as the way they're set up. Now I've never run an auto pulling a tank but when you take off with a 2 section, no ballast half empty tanker, your liquid all shifts to the back of the tank. That means that when you upshift a certain amount of that will come forward as you break torque and smack the front of the tank. I like to time that little whack to the front of the tank with my upshifts. From what I've seen in autos, the poor little truck would have no clue what's going on in a case like this. Never had to deal with it but if the shift hasn't been completed yet the slight change in speed may confuse the truck, Anyone with auto/tank experience please grill me if I'm wrong.

Personally with the lack of control I felt driving an auto with a strapped flatbed load, if I were asked to haul a tank with one I would refuse. Hauling liquid is quite different and a reduction in the level of control I have over the truck is the last thing I would want.

Another thing I thought of yesterday was in the event of an emergency. You have brakes to help you and thats it. I'm positive this has caused more than one accident. Let's say you simply need to break torque (press clutch), brake lightly then hammer down to get out of the situation your in, well ... your SOL. Brake too much she kicks into neutral, brake a little she may try and downshift ... which means when it's go time you may be betweed shifts and coasting. Wouldn't want to run an auto in the mountains, especially during winter.

 

Thx lucky. Very insightful.

 

The technology will be perfected more so in time. It leaves less of a chance of human error For broken parts.

If i remember right Mack has a heavy haul setup using an auto.

 

give me an 18 speed any day of the week, however, with some of these "steering wheel holders" beating trucks I can see why companies order autos.

 

Nope, never. There will be manuals in big trucks forever. Loooove me some 18 speed goodness.

 

Can you also consult your crystal ball for me and tell me my future?

Manuals are being phased out pretty much everywhere. If big rigs are even around in 50 years, ill bet anything theyll be more autos than manuals. Only because more and more people are lazy, and companys will want something that cant get hurt by a drivers inability. Also, pretty much anyone will be able to drive a truck, makin the pools of potential employees even larger.

Sure, everyone will come on here say "im quittin when we get an auto here" but thing is, the up and coming cdl holder wont care and gladly take the position. It will be very gradual, but id bet money in the years coming, the auto to manual ratio will shift. Pun intended