Future thrends = Automatics?

Well I prefer a stick for the extra torque in the upper range of the gear, and I imagine most others do as well. If that's the case then automatics are much more fuel efficient. I don't think there are many good arguments in favor of the stick other than personal preference. So my guess would be that automatics will be standard.

 

for driver mills like USX and others its not fuel economy its just easy to not have to teach them how to double clutch and actually change gears...thus more students get hired as steering wheel holders

 

Also when you only train a driver on a automatic, where else are they gonna go and work. The majority of trucks are manuals still. Think of the maintenance cost they are saving by just running a auto compared to a manual with a new driver. I personally would not like a auto, I have tried a couple and I'm just a big fan of rowing my own gears.

 

Have you seen what passes for a truck driver these days, a lot of them can't drive let alone shift gears lol, and no I don't think I'm the greatest truck driver in the world I'm not even the best truck driver in my family (my dad can drive circles around me) but I know how to shift my own gears.

 

Sorry, but it ain't drivin if I ain't shiftin!

 

There is a very good article in the last issue of land line magazine
You might be able to get it on line
But in explains in depth why an automatic helps with fuel millage even with the added cost of the transmission

 

The last truck I drove was an automatic. It had the worst shifting specs that were the result of the company. It lacked power and could not pick speed up. It would not downshift as smoothly as I would. It also tended to coast instead of the slow down effect you get with the manual.

 

I couldn't agree more