Drivers who are new to automatics

[Puddy_Tat]

I drove into a parking bay on the way there and then couldn't work out how to select reverse. It just wouldn't go in!

my recent 'new' car, reverse is in the 'wrong' direction on the gear lever, it has taken me a couple of attempts a few times...

 

[Elpenor]

As an ex Vauxhall owner I also had issues with reverse on my first time driving.

 

[A380]

I drove a friend's diesel Mercedes automatic from Oxford to Berlin, then back to Calais.

To quote the great Danny De Vito, I would sooner stick red hot needles in my eyes that repeat the journey.

It wasn't that it was short of power, it had a 3l engine, it was the hideous lag between putting your foot down and power arriving. It made overtaking on the motorway really dreadful. I had a 1600 petrol i30 at the time, floor it and it went quickly. It took me nearly the whole trip to get the 'gap' for overtaking right with the automatic.

Couldn't the man in front with the red flag help?

 

[A380]

I must say one benefit of my dyslexia is that when I drive a hire car in Europe or the States the LHD means I don't even have to think about being on the right side of the road or anything similar as everything is 'right' in terms of my position on the road. When I took my midlife crisis mobile to Berlin last year I had to think when pulling away, coming out of car parks and tuning left.

 

[sim667]

I’ve always driven manual but my partner is starting automatic lessons as she’s struggling managing gears and everything else whilst driving and we pointed out that manual cars will be a thing of the past. I think when she gets a car and I have to drive it it will be a bit of an adjustment, but I do drive auto 5.6tonne trucks at work.

 

[hash tag]

I’ve always driven manual but my partner is starting automatic lessons as she’s struggling managing gears and everything else whilst driving and we pointed out that manual cars will be a thing of the past. I think when she gets a car and I have to drive it it will be a bit of an adjustment, but I do drive auto 5.6tonne trucks at work.

Is it one of the ones where the drivers seat is over or in front of the front wheels? They really do take some adjustment.

 

[Throbbing Angel]

It's the handbrake, so no, the brake lights won't be on.

Tested this yesterday when a lorry pulled up behind me and could see the lights reflected in the bodywork more clearly.
When I applied the foot brake auto-hold came on the display after coming to a stop. I lifted my foot off the brake and the brake lights stayed on until I tapped the accelerator to move away when the traffic lights changed.

Kia Sportage if anyone wants to know.

 

[hash tag]

Kia Sportage if anyone wants to know.

A colleague has just taken delivery of a new one, it's huge and ugly.

 

[Throbbing Angel]

A colleague has just taken delivery of a new one, it's huge and ugly.

It is big. Suits my crumbling body's needs, though.

I'm not into cars so only care about the colour and performance rather than what it looks like iykwim.

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

Tested this yesterday when a lorry pulled up behind me and could see the lights reflected in the bodywork more clearly.
When I applied the foot brake auto-hold came on the display after coming to a stop. I lifted my foot off the brake and the brake lights stayed on until I tapped the accelerator to move away when the traffic lights changed.

Kia Sportage if anyone wants to know.

Get a new car, is the answer.

 

[planetgeli]

Get a new car, is the answer.

Kia are massively improved. My last car was a Kia and it got me from South Wales to Croatia, nearly Albania (I ran out of time), AND from South Wales to the Portuguese/Spanish border. Never a problem. Did 100,000 miles, never once a fault. And that was 5+ years ago now.

Was a manual.

 

[Throbbing Angel]

Get a new car, is the answer.

Because?

 

[ddraig]

I struggled to start and for a while, it is bloody weird and does take a while to get used to

Watch out for the accidentally stamping on the brake with your left foot as if it was a clutch. This can be quite a shock. You learn what a real emergency stop feels like!

And yes did this pretty badly! almost whiplashed myself!!

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

Kia are massively improved. My last car was a Kia and it got me from South Wales to Croatia, nearly Albania (I ran out of time), AND from South Wales to the Portuguese/Spanish border. Never a problem. Did 100,000 miles, never once a fault. And that was 5+ years ago now.

Was a manual.

Because?

Kia are excellent, but leaving the brake on is just crap, let Kim Young Fun take over, the south has fucked it.

 

[Throbbing Angel]

Kia are excellent, but leaving the brake on is just crap, let Kim Young Fun take over, the south has fucked it.

I assume that other cars/brands do this too judging by the state of my retinas when stopped a lights <squints>.

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

I assume that other cars/brands do this too judging by the state of my retinas when stopped a lights <squints>.

Mine doesn’t. Neither does my dad’s Lexus. Need to check other brands but couldn’t give enough tosses to do that.

 

[Throbbing Angel]

Mine doesn’t. Neither does my dad’s Lexus. Need to check other brands but couldn’t give enough tosses to do that.

Ditto

 

[A380]

Mine doesn’t. Neither does my dad’s Lexus. Need to check other brands but couldn’t give enough tosses to do that.

Nor my Prius or midlife crisis mobile. Both have buttons for traffic lights (along with mechanical parking brakes...)

 

[MickiQ]

Mine doesn’t. Neither does my dad’s Lexus. Need to check other brands but couldn’t give enough tosses to do that.

My Lexus does, I never wondered about it before but as a direct result of the thread, I checked in the hotel car park this morning. With the auto-hold engaged and the car in drive then the brake lights stay on even if I release the brake pedal.
The car won't move until I press the accelerator. I watched it's reflection in the hotel window behind me and got Youngest's boyfriend (least likely to question why or report me to Mrs Q for strange behaviour) to double check as we were loading the bags.
I've no idea about the A6 that preceded it (the only other car I've had with auto-hold), It never occurred to me to check and I've got rid of it now.

 

[DownwardDog]

It's the handbrake, so no, the brake lights won't be on.

Hill hold systems use the ABS valves to maintain system pressure after the brake pedal is released. It's not using the hand/parking brake.

Whether or not the brake lights actuate is just a CANBUS programming issue inside the body control module.

 

[T & P]

On the general theme of modern manuals vs automatics, I hired a brand new Peugeot manual model for my short break this week, and was amused by its prominent guidance on the dashboard suggesting when I should change gears.

It was so geared (no pun intended) towards saving the last drop of fuel possible, it was laughable. I’m talking the car telling me I should be driving at fifth gear at around 30-32 mph, and on uphill conditions as well, which of course the car was not equipped to detect and take into account. Also being told to switch to sixth gear at just over 40 mph. I mean, it’s borderline dangerous if if you’re an inexperienced driver in any situations whereby you might require a bit of power at short notice.

So in short, automatic transmission cars might have got a lot better, but car manufacturers’ increasingly bossy driving assistance doesn’t always know best vs an experienced good driver.

 

[DownwardDog]

When I still had my Countach (sob) I lent it to Lamborghini Australia for some exhibition they were doing. In return they lent me a red Aventador and that used to shuffle itself into 6th gear by the time it was doing 80km/h.

 

[sim667]

Is it one of the ones where the drivers seat is over or in front of the front wheels? They really do take some adjustment.

No, the engine block is in front of the driver

 

[InArduisFouette]

I seriously don't understand why this country (this continent even) clings on to manual cars so much. Automatics are a well established technology, and are so much easier to drive. Why anyone would want to piss about with a gearstick and a clutch is beyond me.

becasue until the automated manual gerabox came about and then the makers of torque converter autos started ot feel the heat under their feet, torque convertor autos were utter pants and incompatible with typicla european engine sizes and power/ torque curves

 

[skyscraper101]

Well they should sort it out

 

[InArduisFouette]

No, the engine block is in front of the driver

it's only the crayon eaters who have trucks were you sit over the engine if i'm correct about your employment

 

[Puddy_Tat]

becasue until the automated manual gerabox came about and then the makers of torque converter autos started ot feel the heat under their feet, torque convertor autos were utter pants and incompatible with typicla european engine sizes and power/ torque curves

Leyland produced buses with torque converters in the 1930s, although from what i gather they weren't a great success, and many got converted to conventional gearboxes

source

i've never met one, although there's only two left in captivity.

one of the selling points was that they were easier for ex tram drivers than conventional gearboxes - the pre-war leyland (none of this synchromesh thing) is not very forgiving...