Manuals you'll miss in 2019...

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Re: Manuals you'll miss in 2019...

Post by Standardshifter »

Looks like Audi is dropping all manuals in 2019 for the US market.
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Re: Manuals you'll miss in 2019...

Post by potownrob »

Big surprise there. At least their DSGs are good.
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Re: Manuals you'll miss in 2019...

Post by tankinbeans »

potownrob wrote: Mon Aug 20, 2018 7:53 pm Big surprise there. At least their DSGs are good.
Aren't they also fickle AF or have they developed one that isn't buttass expensive to maintain?
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Re: Manuals you'll miss in 2019...

Post by potownrob »

tankinbeans wrote: Mon Aug 20, 2018 8:46 pm
potownrob wrote: Mon Aug 20, 2018 7:53 pm Big surprise there. At least their DSGs are good.
Aren't they also fickle AF or have they developed one that isn't buttass expensive to maintain?
i have never had one, but I hear (read) they are robust AH these days. Don’t hear much about mechatronic units going bad on newer VAG DSGs these days. The DSGs also are said to be able to take a lot more power stock for stock than the conventional manuals. It’s mainly the conventional manual clutch that is the weak link though...
ClutchFork wrote:...So I started carrying a stick of firewood with me and that became my parking brake.
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Re: Manuals you'll miss in 2019...

Post by bk7794 »

I hate how manuals are going the way of availability on sports cars only. Like that's great and all but, what about wanting a cheap fuel efficient, yet simple, daily. Something like the VW Golf Sportwagen.

Before you say, that's available with a stick. I know, but only VW seems to make a wagon with a stick.
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Re: Manuals you'll miss in 2019...

Post by ClutchFork »

If they had taken my advice 30 years ago, we would not be in this fix. My advice was that automatic transmissions should be treated like handicap parking passes. You have to get a doctors approval, and the need must be real, such as you lost a leg in the war or your intelligence level is so low that you might throw it in reverse on the highway.
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Re: Manuals you'll miss in 2019...

Post by potownrob »

LOL
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Re: Manuals you'll miss in 2019...

Post by Rope-Pusher »

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpoyshqB8-o[/youtube]
"We'll ALWAYS have Paris. Where else would they have to stop building cars because they ran out of Amish transmissions?"


https://www.reuters.com/article/psa-peu ... SL8N1VK1V5
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Re: Manuals you'll miss in 2019...

Post by Stelcom66 »

For a midsize sedan it looks like Honda (Accord Sport) is one of the few new 2019 models available with a manual. My recently acquired '99 EX with a 5MT was the top of the line model that year. Last year the Honda HRV was available with a manual trans. only on the FWD model. I just looked at the 2019s and all that I saw for all models was a CVT.
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Re: Manuals you'll miss in 2019...

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Stelcom66 wrote: Sun Sep 16, 2018 2:34 pm For a midsize sedan it looks like Honda (Accord Sport) is one of the few new 2019 models available with a manual. My recently acquired '99 EX with a 5MT was the top of the line model that year. Last year the Honda HRV was available with a manual trans. only on the FWD model. I just looked at the 2019s and all that I saw for all models was a CVT.
there are actually two sport models, one with the 1.5 litre turbo and the other with a 2 litre turbo. unfortunately, at least the sport 1.5t model has limited options; no moonroof, no siriusXM radio (yes, i'm spoiled), no keyless entry. the sport 2.0t is based on the EX, so it has sunroof and other goodies the other sport model doesn't. still wish they'd offer the EX 1.5t with a manual. my sister has an '18 EX-L hybrid, which obviously doesn't compare to a manual model, but it is one nice car. we also picked up a loaner LX (with the 1.5t and CVT) for the week while mom's car ('11 accord which used to be my sister's) is at the dealer. took that on a trip up to albany (~200 mile drive altogether and i drove at least half of it), and i have to say for a base model, that car is very nice. not once did i realize i was operating a CVT. only thing we really missed was the siriusXM (and there's not even a CD player on these new models). HR-V technically was offered with a manual on LX and EX trims, but you could only get it on the FWD models, which they don't tend to order for northern markets. I drove the EX AWD with the CVT when it came out in 2015, and let's just say it was a dog. Might as well get a FIT if you're willing to go FWD. I found the manual FIT to be nice and peppy and deceivingly roomy inside. I believe they have totally abandoned the manual on the HR-V for the '19 model year. That car really needs either the 2 litre from the base Civic, or a turbo engine.
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Re: Manuals you'll miss in 2019...

Post by Stelcom66 »

Interesting no CD player in a new car but - I was in Staples a few weeks ago and just took a look at some new PCs. None had any kind of optical drive. The CD/DVD player stopped working in my pc several years ago. This weekend I fired up an old laptop my ex gave me, fortunately this time (it doesn't always) it booted up. I made several CDs for the '99 Accord for now. I'm looking at other media options - an easy one is a device that plugs into where the CD changer would be, which I don't have. I think the electronics make the stereo think there's a changer, that selection (hit CD twice) selects the changer mode, which in this case is the auxiliary input. The stock radio sounds good enough for me, so may go that route. The other stereos that have become available recently may be what's in the new Honda that you describe. I like that some have the option to play from a USB drive. It seems every CD I've made over time starts skipping eventually.

I'm familiar with the drive to Albany via the Mass Pike - with a CVT. Did it for several years in a company Jeep Patriot SUV with a CVT. That was a Jatco, also used by Nissan and had a reputation for failures at 100 - 120K miles. What it did like about it was on the inclines it was always in the exact appropriate 'gear' or I should say range. The Honda 1.5L turbo as you may know is standard in anything but the LX CR-V (at least the 2018s). I wonder how the reliability of these engines will be over time/miles.

It's interesting to go on fuelly.com where you'll see a 2009 CR-V with a 5 speed manual (last year for that was 2006 in USA CR-Vs) diesel posted by someone in another country.
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Re: Manuals you'll miss in 2019...

Post by potownrob »

Stelcom66 wrote: Mon Sep 17, 2018 8:03 pm Interesting no CD player in a new car but - I was in Staples a few weeks ago and just took a look at some new PCs. None had any kind of optical drive. The CD/DVD player stopped working in my pc several years ago. This weekend I fired up an old laptop my ex gave me, fortunately this time (it doesn't always) it booted up. I made several CDs for the '99 Accord for now. I'm looking at other media options - an easy one is a device that plugs into where the CD changer would be, which I don't have. I think the electronics make the stereo think there's a changer, that selection (hit CD twice) selects the changer mode, which in this case is the auxiliary input. The stock radio sounds good enough for me, so may go that route. The other stereos that have become available recently may be what's in the new Honda that you describe. I like that some have the option to play from a USB drive. It seems every CD I've made over time starts skipping eventually.
i too like to use CDs. what's funny is i kinda converted to digital in the mid-late 2000s with my ipod nano, music on portable hard drives and music stored on my phone (pre-smartphones). i had one of those samsung juke phones designed for music storage and playage. i'd have my ipod or hard drive hooked up to my stereo (usually an aftermarket kenwood excelon deck). also had HD radio before it was popular. didn't have siriusXM, XM or Sirius in the earlier years. didn't have that til i got the golf which has siriusxm built-in. i have had a big collection of CDs (many scratched up or copies of scratched up CDs) for the longest time. i remember being upset when they couldn't equip my '12 CR-V with a CD changer (first year of the 4th gen and no more changer available). luckily, both of my current cars have CD players at least. stock stereo in the accord LX is at least as good as a very good stereo from the late 90s. '15 sport stereo was similar (4 speakers and low-powered amps). as long as you don't blast the music, you'll be ok. basic treble, mid, bass and fader adjustments work well too.
I'm familiar with the drive to Albany via the Mass Pike - with a CVT. Did it for several years in a company Jeep Patriot SUV with a CVT. That was a Jatco, also used by Nissan and had a reputation for failures at 100 - 120K miles. What it did like about it was on the inclines it was always in the exact appropriate 'gear' or I should say range. The Honda 1.5L turbo as you may know is standard in anything but the LX CR-V (at least the 2018s). I wonder how the reliability of these engines will be over time/miles.
where were you coming from, boston? i had a rental patriot and that CVT is much more obvious than the one in the Accords. that's more like the one in the HR-V, struggling to hold power up high. we didn't take any toll roads (or portions of roads with tolls) last saturday; headed up 9G from Hyde Park up and over the Rip Van Winkel Bridge then up 32 and off into the woods west of Albany, then back down to Albany, mostly backroads. heading home, we took 90 east to 9 south. that was about as highwayee as the trip got. the mpg meter was showing an average of ~40 mpg til we got up into the mountains near thacher park (~15 miles southwest of albany) when it dropped down to ~30 mpg and stayed there for pretty much the rest of the trip...the 1.5t engine is only in the accords, non lx cr-vs and most civics. the fit has a 1.5 litre n/a engine, the hr-v has the dinosaur 1.8 litre (i think L series) from the last gen civic, the SUVs and trucks have bigger engines. i think the 1.5t is a good choice for the accord. it may not have the cool soundtrack of the old k24 engine, but it gets the job done well, and the vtec (which the cr-v and civic with 1.5t don't have) definitely helps out when you need more power.

It's interesting to go on fuelly.com where you'll see a 2009 CR-V with a 5 speed manual (last year for that was 2006 in USA CR-Vs) diesel posted by someone in another country.
yeah, they got the good models. that 3rd gen CR-V was very good, other than the no manual thing. i liked my '12 CR-V (4th gen), but no manual and no real way to even shift manually was annoying at times.
ClutchFork wrote:...So I started carrying a stick of firewood with me and that became my parking brake.
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Re: Manuals you'll miss in 2019...

Post by Stelcom66 »

potownrob wrote: Tue Sep 18, 2018 2:55 am i too like to use CDs. what's funny is i kinda converted to digital in the mid-late 2000s with my ipod nano, music on portable hard drives and music stored on my phone (pre-smartphones). i had one of those samsung juke phones designed for music storage and playage. i'd have my ipod or hard drive hooked up to my stereo (usually an aftermarket kenwood excelon deck). also had HD radio before it was popular. didn't have siriusXM, XM or Sirius in the earlier years. didn't have that til i got the golf which has siriusxm built-in. i have had a big collection of CDs (many scratched up or copies of scratched up CDs) for the longest time. i remember being upset when they couldn't equip my '12 CR-V with a CD changer (first year of the 4th gen and no more changer available). luckily, both of my current cars have CD players at least. stock stereo in the accord LX is at least as good as a very good stereo from the late 90s. '15 sport stereo was similar (4 speakers and low-powered amps). as long as you don't blast the music, you'll be ok. basic treble, mid, bass and fader adjustments work well too.
I use CDs in the '99 Accord only because for now it's my only choice. Once my small remaining supply of blank CDs is depleted I won't have a need to buy more. At least there's a lot of choices/options with new mobile stereos, such as bluetooth. In the company van I must settle for an FM transmitter connected to an mp3 player
potownrob wrote: Tue Sep 18, 2018 2:55 am where were you coming from, boston? i had a rental patriot and that CVT is much more obvious than the one in the Accords. that's more like the one in the HR-V, struggling to hold power up high. we didn't take any toll roads (or portions of roads with tolls) last saturday; headed up 9G from Hyde Park up and over the Rip Van Winkel Bridge then up 32 and off into the woods west of Albany, then back down to Albany, mostly backroads. heading home, we took 90 east to 9 south. that was about as highwayee as the trip got. the mpg meter was showing an average of ~40 mpg til we got up into the mountains near thacher park (~15 miles southwest of albany) when it dropped down to ~30 mpg and stayed there for pretty much the rest of the trip...the 1.5t engine is only in the accords, non lx cr-vs and most civics. the fit has a 1.5 litre n/a engine, the hr-v has the dinosaur 1.8 litre (i think L series) from the last gen civic, the SUVs and trucks have bigger engines. i think the 1.5t is a good choice for the accord. it may not have the cool soundtrack of the old k24 engine, but it gets the job done well, and the vtec (which the cr-v and civic with 1.5t don't have) definitely helps out when you need more power.
Came from Conn. when going to Albany. The CVT was a 'different' experience on the Merritt Parkway. That's a 2 lane highway with no on ramps - so acceleration is essential. With the Jeep CVT the tach would shoot up to whatever high value and remain there as the speed gradually increased, no perception of shifting at all. Once to cruising speed I'd let up off the accelerator and the rpms would settle down. When driving normally, there did seem to be 2 ranges. You mentioned Honda Fit - I considered those with a manual shift. A former co -worker had one i rode in a few times, I did like it. I was impressed that he was in his early-mid 70s when bought it. I had a Honda Pilot for a year, liked it but fuel economy was awful. It was hardly any better than my '02 V8 Silverado that I have now. There must have been something wrong, maybe needed a tuneup. In the winter using the remote start at times I was averaging around 14.5 mpg (mostly around town). I'd be very pleased to get 30 mpg on a trip... getting 40 mpg, even for a while is amazing IMO.
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Re: Manuals you'll miss in 2019...

Post by bk7794 »

You can add the Jeep Renegade to the list.
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Re: Manuals you'll miss in 2019...

Post by watkins »

bk7794 wrote: Mon Oct 01, 2018 9:45 pm You can add the Jeep Renegade to the list.
Im not sure anyone is actually going to miss that.
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