The most important component of a car is the motor, but the second being the unit that translates power from the engine to the wheels. This is the transmission. The two easily recognized types being the manual and automatic transmission. This comparison will be ignorant to the presence of Continuously Variable Transmissions and Electric vehicles which lack transmissions. The track times are in and only one transmission may win.
The manual is soon to become along side the Dodo bird only to be remembered in museums, so let this be the last hoorah of the forgotten form of the manual transmission. Historically the manual was the original form for all vehicles, unus et solus. Arriving in 1940, the automatic was sold by General Motors as a more luxurious option for Oldsmobile under the name of the “Hydra-Matic” transmission. Gaining popularity the automatic began beating the manual in sales as it was easy for new drivers and safer as you do not need to move a hand from the wheel to shift. During the gas crisis of the 70’s, car manufacturers began selling the manual as solely a more economic choice. The manual was cheaper to make and buy, more gas efficient, and lighter which contributes to the tuner scene of the late 90’s. After the gas crisis, car enthusiasts began recognizing the advantage of a lighter car for sport performance so car manufacturers began selling the hype. Car companies did the opposite of what they did in the 40’s as now the sportier and possibly more luxurious models had manual transmissions. In current day car world, It is quite rare to buy a new car that uses a manual transmission as the hype dies off of having a more laborious driving experience. There is still one place where manuals can be found aplenty.
In Racing! Drag racers whether street or IDRC still hold true to the manual but Formula racers claim the automatic is the quickest and yet both are true. For racing in a straight-line, It is nearly impossible for a computer to shift at the correct points which makes a built manual transmission superior. For racing a track, the automatic can not be beat as it has almost seamless shifts which creates almost no understeer in turns. What it comes down to for an everyday driver is the experience. Remove the hype of claimed horsepowers in track racing, the 0 mpg electric cars and ¼ mile times for drag racing and your left with the “funometer.” The “funometer” calculates the drivers experience and only the driver can decide what their “funometer” reads.
References
- Glon, Ronan. “Manual vs. Automatic vs. CVT: Different Types of Transmissions Explained.” Digital Trends, Digital Trends, 4 Sept. 2018, www.digitaltrends.com/cars/manual-vs-automatic-transmission/.
- Writer, State Farm Staff. “Manual vs. Automatic Transmissions.” State Farm, State Farm, 2 Jan. 2019, www.statefarm.com/simple-insights/auto-and-vehicles/manual-vs-automatic-transmissions.
- Tan, Wilbert, et al. “Manual vs. Automatic Transmission: Which Should You Use?” Carmudi Philippines, Carmudi Philippines, 14 Feb. 2018, www.carmudi.com.ph/journal/manual-vs-automatic-transmission-which-should-you-use/.
