Elon Musk

a traditional automatic works by using one of multiple variations on traditional gearing and automatically shifting between them, with varying results depending on the age and model of the car. some have settings to shift more aggressively or less so to get better fuel economy

newer vehicles, especially electric ones, use a continuously variable transmission. there are a few mechanisms, but imagine the gear that controls the ratio being cone-shaped. so there are not distinct gears, there’s a spectrum of ratios you can move through depending on current speed and desired acceleration, etc

if you’re worried that this is drive-by-wire, I wouldn’t. nearly every vehicle has had some drive-by-wire aspects for many decades

I have no idea how an automatic even works.

I mean that's kind of the point, they just do. you press the accelerator and the car goes forward

I had a much better time when I tried to learn to drive in the 90s, cars only had 4 gears then. now they have 5 or 6, I just can't do it, my left hand is too unco-ordinated. the instructor would tell me to go from 1st to 3rd and I'd put it in 5th and the car would stall. or even worse, go down from 5th to 4th and I'd put in 2nd. then he'd get mad and tell me I'm fucking up his gear box. you told me to do it mate, not my fault you're a shit teacher

anyway most of the stuff I'd been told about automatic cars was absolute bullshit. oh they can't deal with hills? total bollocks. I lived in Hastings at the top of a really steep hill, my car zipped up it like it wasn't even there. my mum's car was manual and shuddered the whole way up there. it's all lies

On steep downhills it is kind of nice to be able to gear down manually as an adjunct to braking. Other than that the continuously variable automatics I've driven are as good or better.

I always found changing gears incredibly stressful whereas breaking is really easy so I don't really know why it would be better. this is something the US has got right

I don't really know why it would be better.

Chances are you've never descended a road that starts at 9500 ft above sea level and ends at 1000 ft. Brakes can overheat and fail in those circumstances.

everything i know about car transmissions (which is very little) comes from having built lego kits. they're really good! although mine did not feature a synchromesh

xp true and that's a thing that people do all the time

Maybe not all the time, but in the western USA it certainly has its applications, especially if you predictably spend time driving in the mountains because you enjoy spending time in the mountains and they are accessible nearby.

Chances are you've never descended a road that starts at 9500 ft above sea level and ends at 1000 ft. Brakes can overheat and fail in those circumstances.

nearly every automatic transmission vehicle has an equivalent to engine braking or downshifting, at least everything I’ve driven has?

chipping away chipping away: https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-commentary/elon-musk-tesla-crash-1234930544/

xpost Yeah, some automatic low gear. L2, etc.

moving to an automatic next month, probably for good at this stage id imagine and ill miss the control but will get used to it

I drove manual transmission autos exclusively for 30 years. Now I drive an automatic 95% of the time. There's not a lot to miss. It's all just driving, but some driving involves more left foot/right hand activity.

almost no manuals are sold anymore in the usa anymore its around ~1% rip

Yous are all fannies. It's just a gear stick and a clutch.

I feel like we are having a debate from 1988

chances are you've never descended a road that starts at 9500 ft above sea level and ends at 1000 ft. Brakes can overheat and fail in those circumstances.

I'll remember this next time I drop my daughter off at violin lessons and run to Target

lol

I love it when ilx tells everyone how to drive

You should see the football thread.

i am nearly 56 and have never driven an automatic.
i kinda like the whole process re manual.
in my head : automatic = more stuff that can go wrong.
i like my cars to be simple and basic.
as little s/w in charge as possible.
and yeah, i know, old man shouting at the clouds meme etc ..

nearly every automatic transmission vehicle has an equivalent to engine braking or downshifting, at least everything I’ve driven has?

― ɥɯ ︵ (°□°) (mh), Sunday, December 17, 2023 10:22 AM (four hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

this is true most automatics have S and/or L gears for that sort of thing, also you can pump the breaks down a mountain to avoid overheating

i do not know how to drive a "stick"

its not that hard good to learn if you have the opportunity

manuals used to get better gas milage than automatics but thats no longer true, new automatic transmissions of all types (planetary, dual clutch, cvt) work really good in general now, also a lot of the new related tech like adaptive cruise control is good too, manuals can be fun to drive and def feel more connected to the true mechanical nature of cars, but crawling around in traffic with them kinda sucks

double-declutchingly* heel-and-toe away goes roger mexico**

*for the real stick-hedz
**not ilx's roger mexico

i always request an automatic when renting in the UK, and would never buy a manual.

computers are better at changing gear than me (and most other people).

I've only ever had manual cars but I guess I'll get an EV in the next 10 years or so so my manual days will be over. I quite like driving manual - I've had driving lessons in both the US and UK and it's more our crazy roads that make it harder here rather than the gears.

This thread used to be a lot more entertaining.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqL-2ZCPpjA

I've had driving lessons in both the US and UK and it's more our crazy roads that make it harder here rather than the gears.

I learned to drive in the UK ahead of a move to the US and yeah the combination of larger roads and getting an automatic car made being a new driver a lot easier.

This thread used to be a lot more entertaining.

Just whiling away the time as we wait for Mr Musk's next surpassingly stupid episode. He seems to be laying low rn.

i made it my pandemic hobby to learn how to drive a stick. it’s fun as hell and all i want to do is to road trip in my manual car

gets it

aimless that’s a cool ride you have. if i had room i’d take you up on the offer. my favorite era of subies aesthetically

As a lifelong Alfa tragic it kills me to see their range 80% SUVs and, I think, no manual transmissions. Clinging to my 159 Ti.

also you can pump the breaks down a mountain to avoid overheating

or I can give them a hard tap when the car in front of me slows down a lot more quickly than I anticipated

I think the last time I drove down from mountains lag∞n was in my car and that happened

so you guys hear anything stupid about Elon Musk today? nobody’s leaked the timeline on whether he knew his ex was releasing a toy called Grok and he named the stupid dad joke chatbot the same thing, or if it was vice versa

Man all this talk of mountains makes me miss driving those curvy-ass parts of the 5 between Redding and the Oregon border. Fuck.

Or the 299! What an amazing road.

This is way off topic, but I was driving from SF up to a memorial service in Tacoma in late September 2018 and the Delta Fire broke out in Shasta County CA north of Redding. They closed Highway 5. I asked people at a restaurant in Redding which way I should go, and they said take 299 to 89 and go around to the East.

Well, that didn't work out at all. About a quarter of a mile from Redding on 299 the traffic was at a complete standstill. I went back to Redding and asked again, and they said take highway 44 to the south and east to 89. It was clear, and wended its way through a serious pine forest, with Mount Lassen visible in the distance, and was one of the most amazing roads I have ever driven on.

I think the last time I drove down from mountains lag∞n was in my car and that happened

― ɥɯ ︵ (°□°) (mh), Sunday, December 17, 2023 6:39 PM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

nice, good times

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kAIMlISHhU

wild how theres one tattoo in that video, different times (before tattoos were common)

engine braking is cool, i don’t think it’s widely taught. i understand some roads like pikes peak will have brake check stations on the downhill where they make you pull in to measure the temperature of your brakes, to make sure thryre not so hot as to cause brake fade. if you are an engine braker you can impress them with low temps.

they should have a special engine breaker sticker to give to the good people

they should have a like a speed gun but for like brake temp and like salute you when you drive by engine braking all cold brakes like

they should play a bugle as you cruise by on ice cold breaks

but if your breaks are overheated they should shoot you with guns

they should stop you for not having like....snow chains on your brakes so cold