Manual transmission, we hardly knew ye - Page 7

I like my clutch. 

Buying a Saab may be a good idea or a bad idea.  There are cars to watch out for.

Safety wise the ng900's of the 1994 thru the 9-3 era to 2003 are pretty bad.  The crash test data was Gawd-awful.

2003 era and the first few years for the 9-3 were pretty bad regarding repairs.

Used 9-5's from the 2000ish era were problem plagued with engines that toasted via a bad oil design.

But you may be able to get a deal on a newer Saab but be aware that they appear to be on the ropes and going  down for the count.  Till today there has not even been a Saab made in Sweden since production shut down six weeks ago.  They are in deep trouble and the deals to bail them out are shaky at best.

They have a loan with a Chinese company to make them like 1500 to 1800 cars.  They have a potential suitor in a guy who had major Russian mob ties and just wants it for the real estate from what has been said.

Fact is according to most auto folks there is no way they can survive and since old technology got sold to BAIC of China the only other technology they have is owned by GM.

Snow handling is on a par with any other FWD vehicle.  If you get an AWD Saab if it has Michelin tires get rid of them since they suck in snow.

8 inches of wet Snow on the mountain road today,following a Subaru. He goes in the ditch so I ease on around him in 2 wheel rear drive. Guess Subaru was wrong. It's the driver not the car,Pilgrim.

Quote:

Originally Posted by slider 

8 inches of wet Snow on the mountain road today,following a Subaru. He goes in the ditch so I ease on around him in 2 wheel rear drive. Guess Subaru was wrong. It's the driver not the car,Pilgrim.

most likely he was on no-season tires......and can't drive 

A lot of it is the tires.  I forked out some major cash for a new set of Michelin only to find they were the worst rated in the book.

They were snow rated of course by Michelin but sadly not by the independent guys who tested them.

My AWD was like a rhino on wet clay.  It went from being a good handling snow car to a pig in the time it took them to change tires.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaobrien6 

Unless I'm mistaken, Chrysler hasn't confirmed this yet so it's still speculation at this point.  Although there are a lot of rumors flying around.  Also, that Gladiator concept in your picture is form 2005, so I'm guessing whatever they bring to market could be substantially different.

 

They have confirmed it.  Comes out next year.  http://www.worldcarfans.com/111011230418/jeep-grand-wagoneer-and-pickup-confirmed---report 
 

Oooh, I totally want the Wagoneer, lol. But it has to look like an old one. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Philpug 

Save your breath. Manufactures are not concerned with we want, but more what the government wants in the overall MPG requirements. When the automatics are getting smarter and much more efficient than the sticks in performance and MPG, why would they back an inferior drivetrain. If you want another stick start shopping the USED car market.  

Phil

Actually the main difference is that the EPA changed their mileage calculations. The new EPA calculations uses bad shift points (RPMs) for the manual transmissions. The Automatics are getting better mileage due to better tuning of shift points but a automatic (torque converter) is just inefficient compared to a manual transmission. Manual transmissions are cheaper and more durable than automatics.

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/cars/new-cars/news/2008/10/save-gas-and-money-with-a-stick-shift-10-08/overview/manual-vs-auto-ov.htm

Also Subaru's AWD drive system is better on the Manual transmission models. The manual transmission cars split the torque pretty evenly (51/49 or 50/50) between rear and back wheels. The Subaru Automatic transmission drive train will give you 90% of the power at the front wheels and 10% of the power at back wheels. Some automatic Subarus do a 80/20 split. The torque split on the automatics makes their mileage better but makes them worse snow cars.

Quite a few auto-trans cars were getting better fuel mileage than manual-trans cars with the old EPA ratings.  Just Say'n.

Well after car/suv shopping for the last few weeks, I learned something shocking. You can actually buy a Hummer H3 with a manual tranny! I've heard it's a pretty slick shifting one, too. I ended up not buying one because it didn't pass muster for highway driving, but I was very impressed with it at lower speeds. Great interior, and killer off-road ability. This thing would have zero problem getting you to the ski hill or to some good BC. It's not obnoxiously huge, either, being even smaller than an FJ, which I also learned can be had in a stick!

Quote:

Originally Posted by AustinFromSA 

Well after car/suv shopping for the last few weeks, I learned something shocking. You can actually buy a Hummer H3 with a manual tranny! I've heard it's a pretty slick shifting one, too. I ended up not buying one because it didn't pass muster for highway driving, but I was very impressed with it at lower speeds. Great interior, and killer off-road ability. This thing would have zero problem getting you to the ski hill or to some good BC. It's not obnoxiously huge, either, being even smaller than an FJ, which I also learned can be had in a stick!

I had one, auto though.   It drives big, but has a tiny interior.  Grossly underpowered.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richie-Rich 

I had one, auto though.   It drives big, but has a tiny interior.  Grossly underpowered.

Definitely. I realized that the only way I'd buy one, was if it had a V8, like the H3-Alpha. But then, I guess there goes the manual trans. Drats! Guess we're back to square one! I do hate our lack of options for vehicles with manual transmissions here in the states.

Looked at Subarus over the last few weeks, and ran across the same thing. The only way to get one with a stick is to get some stripped down base model. The other thing that sucks is that used ones seem to cost more than new ones! Even the dealers are paying over retail at auctions to pick them up.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AustinFromSA 

Well after car/suv shopping for the last few weeks, I learned something shocking. You can actually buy a Hummer H3 with a manual tranny!

Im shocked to learn you can still buy a Hummer. Outside of Nevada anyway.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Philpug 

Used Subies have been going for stupid money for the past 18 months. Actually you don't need to drop down to a stripper for a stick, you can get them with a roof and other nicities . If you want leather, I would go aftermarket with Katskins.  

 

But not with a competent engine.  The Outback 2.5 stick I drove last fall barely had enough power to get out of its own way.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheDad 

But not with a competent engine.  The Outback 2.5 stick I drove last fall barely had enough power to get out of its own way.

You think the current normally aspirated 2.5 is anemic? You should have driven the one's from the early 80's! 

Pushrod boxer 4 cyl 1.8 with MAYBE 70hp.......that made the AWD wagon get up and go 

Quote:

Originally Posted by AustinFromSA 

Well after car/suv shopping for the last few weeks, I learned something shocking. You can actually buy a Hummer H3 with a manual tranny! I've heard it's a pretty slick shifting one, too. I ended up not buying one because it didn't pass muster for highway driving, but I was very impressed with it at lower speeds. Great interior, and killer off-road ability. This thing would have zero problem getting you to the ski hill or to some good BC. It's not obnoxiously huge, either, being even smaller than an FJ, which I also learned can be had in a stick!

If I were looking at that type of vehicle I would get a Nissan Xterra. Available in stick. More reliable. Very offroad capable. Better looking. More interior room. Cheaper.

I'm a bit peaved with Subaru today.  I got a recall email this week about something trivial..

I did research this a little on a Subaru forum and it appears to be something they have been recalling vehicles about for at least 6 months. So, how come they didn't fix it the three previous times I had to bring the vehicle to the dealer for service I couldn't perform myself?

Anyway, I have an appointment  to waste a couple hours dropping of and picking up a vehicle middle of next week.