Lost in transmissions

Call me old-fashioned, but I really look forward to test-driving manual transmission cars these days. My eyes glaze over whenever I hear a manufacturer gush over their new double clutch/CVT/manumatic thingamajig. Nothing wrong with having a computer do the shifting for you, but I learned to drive the hard way: on a manual transmission, in a car without power steering, and the world’s scariest teacher: Dad. Of course, you could say my brother had it worse; he had to learn to shift with a non-synchronized 4-speed.

It is my theory that more people would be better drivers if they voluntarily opted to learn to drive a stick when they signed up for driving school. It just creates that man-machine interaction that carries over to the rest of the driving. When you go too easy or too hard on the clutch, the engine either stalls or the car leaps forward like that crazy Bel-Air in Christine.

If you get it right, the car moves forward like a hot knife through butter. Doesn’t matter whether it’s a Vios or an STI. It’s just... beautiful. Automatics make it too easy on a driver. You put it in “Drive”, you step on the gas, and off you go. You don’t need to think about the process, and because you don’t master this most basic (and arguably the most crucial) of driving skills, everything else suffers.

This is because once you’ve gotten the car to move for the very first time, the next few kilometers will be like juggling several balls: steering the car, slowing down at intersections, checking the mirrors... remember how hard all of that seemed to be the first time you learned to drive? I was a nervous wreck by the time we made it out of the village.

If you can master the clutch, everything else will be a piece of cake. I suppose it’s like getting the “Do-Re-Mi-Fa-So-La-Ti-Do” part of playing the piano; the more you practice the basics, the better you’ll be at building on these for the more advanced skills.

Of course, I may be wrong. Depending on how you look at it, thousands of taxi drivers drive a stick and they’re either the worst drivers in the world or they could give Fernando Alonso a run for the F1 Championship.

So now it’s common for a new vehicle to have the latest gee-whiz transmission to further take away from the driving experience, and there’s nothing we can do to stop it. Granted, there are some cars that are not much fun to drive anyway; an automatic won’t do any worse than what’s already there. And of course, family vehicles like the average SUV or workhorse pickup trucks are best served with an automatic.

However, there are some nice ones that I can’t help but be disappointed with when the manufacturer doesn’t even give the option of a manual: the 2.0-liter Mazda3 has always been stuck with a 4-speed manumatic, the updated Toyota Altis 2.0 has a CVT but could be a lot of fun with a stick. Ditto the Hyundai Genesis Coupe 3.8 which comes only with an automatic, and the BMW 120i. To its credit, BMW gives you the option of spec’ing its high performance M3 with a 6-speed manual.

For SUVs, few are actually interesting enough to warrant shifting for yourself, but those that could be a lot more fun to drive are the Subaru Forester XT and Mazda CX-7. Among the pickup trucks, only the Nissan Navara is actually justifiable to get with a manual... mainly because it’s a 6-speed.

The Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X has this beastly dual-clutch transmission, but frankly I’d have just as much fun with a good old manual. Probably a lot cheaper to buy and maintain, too. Subaru has its priorities right with the 6-speed Impreza STI.

For the entry-level market, the Mazda2 5-door is a frisky animal that’s unfortunately saddled with a killjoy 4-speed, and the hot 1.6-liter Ford Fiesta 5-door Sport only comes with a dual-clutch automatic. If you want the manual, you’ll have to step down to the 1.4-liter variant. You want paddle shifters? Step up to the Focus. I think you can still opt to get a Focus diesel with a stick shift. Honda still gives manual and automatic options for its City and Jazz models.

Of course, I may be barking against the wind here. Manufacturers are completely justified in only bringing in the models that they’re confident they can sell. Sadly, the votes are automatic. Blame heavy city traffic. Blame the buyer who just isn’t that inclined to shift on a daily basis.

In the meantime, I’ll look forward to exercising my left leg any chance I can get. In a few more years, the manual transmission may well be relegated to wallflower status, or even go the way of the dodo.

Here are a couple of Backseat Driver comments on James Deakin’s “A Sticky Situation” from last week…

Legally speaking, the security guards have no authority to prevent a homeowner from going to his house. The best thing for an aggrieved homeowner to do is to ignore the guards and proceed to his home. If the guards employ force, threat or intimidation to prevent the homeowner from legally exercising (going to his house) his right, they can be charged with grave coercion under our Revised Penal Code. This should be a good start in putting an end to this practice. – agent x-44

You may want to discuss this with your village/homeowners association officers during the association meeting. It is the association that regulates the selling and pricing of the stickers, and they let the security agency implement such. Proceeds of the sale go to the association. With regards to the comment of agent x-44, he is correct. You can file a complaint with your association and let them handle the contracted security agency. However, it is also part of the job of the security to report to the association, homeowners who do not have the village sticker or homeowners who violate any of the association’s rules and regulations. Ika nga, magkita na lang kayo sa office ng village administrator. – peejay.reyes