

  (Source: Paul Stamatiou)


I. Ford Guns for Gen. Y, Plugs Zipcar Partnership









II. Manuals Seeing Strong Sales Among Younger Drivers at Ford



Manual Transmission
[Image Source: Automobile Magazine]



III. Ford Blasts Back at Critics of MyFord Touch



MyFord Touch




IV. CAFE Quandaries and Looking Ahead to the 2014 Fiesta Mix



2014 Ford Fiesta
2014 Ford Fiesta ST


Ford Fiesta
[Image Source: Ford via AutoBlog]




Sources: Ford [1], [2]

Comments     Threshold


RE: March of progress
By Spuke on 3/22/2013 10:17:40 PM , Rating: 3
You can all go ahead and call me a "newb that doesn't have sufficient experience driving a manual transmission" but that doesn't matter because at the end of the day even if the operations of a manual transmission become transparent to the operator due to the level of experience, you don't gain anything.
No experience with manual driving but you're an expert on what's gained or lost with driving one? Ok, I'll play. What exactly is "anything"? Explain how I am not gaining whatever that is.

RE: March of progress
By inighthawki on 3/23/13, Rating: -1
RE: March of progress



RE: March of progress
By inighthawki on 3/23/13, Rating: 0
RE: March of progress



RE: March of progress
Sorry, this was meant as a response to inighthawki.

RE: March of progress


RE: March of progress


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RE: March of progress
My dad's manual Forester was definitely difficult to start with,


RE: March of progress

Incorrect sir.






RE: March of progress
By chick0n on 3/23/2013 6:21:48 AM , Rating: 1
no gain? how about it trains ur body so it becomes more effective?

just admit that you suck at driving in general and of course u cant drive a stick for shit.

RE: March of progress
By V-Money on 3/23/2013 5:54:38 PM , Rating: 2
What i mean is if the entire experience becomes completely transparent, then it's no different from driving with an automatic transmission. You either let the car do it for you, or you just do it enough that it's reflex. The net result is you have just as much attention to pay to the road as you do driving an automatic. I see no gain there. (And I'm not referring to the technical benefits of the transmission itself)

I think you are simplifying it too much. Just because something is natural and you don't notice a difference doesn't mean there isn't a difference. For example, a study has shown that riding a motorcycle can make you smarter by improving cognitive function. I ride a motorcycle and it's become such second nature to shift and drive that when I am simply driving to work or school it doesn't feel any different whether I am riding the bike, driving my truck (automatic) or driving my car (manual). Even though the experience is "completely transparent" as you say your brain is still working harder than if you are using an automatic. When I drive an automatic its nothing more than gas/break with a little bit of steering, when I drive a manual I actually control the car and even though it's second nature I am always keeping the RPMs appropriate for the setting I am in. The difference might not be as drastic as it is on the bike, but I am always more aware and more engaged with driving when using a manual.

RE: March of progress
By inighthawki on 3/24/2013 1:11:53 AM , Rating: 2

And I'm willing to bet that you are an equally good driver with all three different types of vehicles.

RE: March of progress
By Black1969ta on 3/25/2013 6:29:57 AM , Rating: 2
And I would bet that he pays much more attention to the road (and surroundings) on the motorcycle, yet it also required the most user input. I would bet that even the car produces more attention than the Truck, but the truck has the "easiest" to drive auto.

When I was in College, there was an exchange student from England, he complained about our roads, not the twists and turns, but the low speed limits, he stated that it was so boring to drive that slow that it was hard to pay attention.

You act as though human have a finite brain capacity and driving a manual meets or exceeds that, in which case an automatic would "help" but our brain capacity far exceeds driving, we just need something to wake it up.

RE: March of progress
By V-Money on 3/25/2013 9:58:36 PM , Rating: 2
I am, although each has its advantages. That doesn't mean that I don't gain anything by driving the manual over the automatic or the bike over the manual just because I don't consciously notice a difference. To add another great benefit (in my opinion) to driving a manual is that not many people know how to drive one, so you don't have to worry about people asking to borrow it.

