[Cialug] OT: safe/reliable fuel-efficient cars.

[Jeffrey Ollie]

On Fri, Feb 27, 2009 at 11:11 AM, Daniel A. Ramaley
<daniel.ramaley at drake.edu> wrote:
>>It's annoying how all the manufacturers do not offer manual
>> transmissions in their "higher-end" trim levels.
>
> Why is that?

Economics.  Most people don't want manual transmissions any more, so
it's not cost-effective to offer the option.

I heard on NPR last night or this morning that GM lost almost $4000 on
every car they sold last year.

Do driver's ed programs even teach manual transmissions anymore?  When
I too driver's ed <mumble> years ago, we spent maybe one or two class
sessions on driving a manual.  Fortunately my parents owned a car with
a manual transmission so I learned pretty quickly.  There's nothing
like stopping at a stop sign that's at the top of a hill with an
expensive sports car behind you to motivate you to learn!

-- 
Jeff Ollie