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This is actually a big problem in the USA. Everyone has a powerful car with automatic transmission. On level ground these will eventually accelerate to 15MPH un

This is actually a big problem in the USA. Everyone has a powerful car with automatic transmission. On level ground these will eventually accelerate to 15MPH unless the driver uses the brake. A manual transmission, or electric drive, is ever so much more civilized.

vosper 10y ago
I'd guess that people in the US spend a lot more time on freeways than Europeans do. A powerful engine is good for that (quietness, ability to overtake / maintain speed on hills). Automatic transmissions are great for freeways because they allow for cruise control. I have a pet theory that if everyone on the freeway used cruise control all the time the freeway would be safer and less stressful. That's one of the reasons I'm looking forward to self-driving cars :) Edit: I would imagine it would be straightforward to restrict the max speed that a vehicle can reach without the drivers foot on the pedal (there may even already be such a rule). The ability to regulate the speed already exists within the cruise control system.
- ghaff 10y ago
  You can have cruise control on a stick. I rarely use it but my manual car has it. On most (barring long climbs and descents) freeways with free moving traffic, you pretty much put the stick in top gear and leave it. The big win with an automatic is stop and go traffic.
  - vosper 10y ago
    Are there limitations to cruise control on manual? Presumably if it's a true manual gearbox the car can't shift automatically, so if you were to encounter an upward slope that required a down-shift what happens?
    - detaro 10y ago
      Yes, it is limited to what the car can do in that gear, so you have to downshift manually (and re-set the cruise control).
    - pmontra 10y ago
      My old car had one. It disengaged when I touched brakes or the clutch. I could accelerate and it felt back to the programmed speed when I left the pedal. It never shifted, obviously.
andrepd 10y ago
Huh. I've never thought of that. Lol at that last sentence though :).

vosper 10y ago

I'd guess that people in the US spend a lot more time on freeways than Europeans do. A powerful engine is good for that (quietness, ability to overtake / maintain speed on hills). Automatic transmissions are great for freeways because they allow for cruise control. I have a pet theory that if everyone on the freeway used cruise control all the time the freeway would be safer and less stressful. That's one of the reasons I'm looking forward to self-driving cars :) Edit: I would imagine it would be straightforward to restrict the max speed that a vehicle can reach without the drivers foot on the pedal (there may even already be such a rule). The ability to regulate the speed already exists within the cruise control system.

ghaff 10y ago
You can have cruise control on a stick. I rarely use it but my manual car has it. On most (barring long climbs and descents) freeways with free moving traffic, you pretty much put the stick in top gear and leave it. The big win with an automatic is stop and go traffic.
- vosper 10y ago
  Are there limitations to cruise control on manual? Presumably if it's a true manual gearbox the car can't shift automatically, so if you were to encounter an upward slope that required a down-shift what happens?
  - detaro 10y ago
    Yes, it is limited to what the car can do in that gear, so you have to downshift manually (and re-set the cruise control).
  - pmontra 10y ago
    My old car had one. It disengaged when I touched brakes or the clutch. I could accelerate and it felt back to the programmed speed when I left the pedal. It never shifted, obviously.

andrepd 10y ago

Huh. I've never thought of that. Lol at that last sentence though :).