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Whenever I encounter the "Robb Report" I am reminded of an occasion in college when some friends and I noticed one of its issues on the newsstand in a grocery s

Whenever I encounter the "Robb Report" I am reminded of an occasion in college when some friends and I noticed one of its issues on the newsstand in a grocery store. It came in a special plastic bag with an opaque rectangle printed over most of the cover, presumably to obscure the luxury products advertised therein from proles like us, but by pulling the plastic away from the cover we could clearly see that it was dominated by an image of some kind of miniature recreational submarine. Since then it has been difficult for me to take anything about the Robb Report seriously. Maybe that's unfair of me. Anyway, it would be weird if the uber wealthy didn't keep the stick shift around in some form or other, but on EVs it will be nothing but an affectation, like the way modern "sport" luxury cars pipe fake engine noise into the cabin. Just another way for folks who have too much money to waste some more of it.

quicklime 4y ago
Sorry, but I do think this is unfair. There are a lot of people out there who love the way engines sound, and the increased engagement that a manual transmission brings to the driving experience. They aren't all "folks who have too much money", and I really hope this experience continues to be available to those who don't. There's no denying that cars with DCTs or EVs are faster and better on most metrics. But they are less fun for a lot of people.
- caconym_ 4y ago
  I think you are misunderstanding me a little. My car has a manual transmission and driving it is (oddly enough, since it's not a very fast or powerful car) one of the greatest joys in my life. It's wonderful to be so "close to the metal". My point here is that the products Robb Report is shilling are not going to provide this experience, much in the same way that the fake engine noise piped into the sound-deadened cabin of some midsize BMW pedestrian-killer doesn't reproduce the true music of a classic euro V8. A stick shift gizmo on an EV isn't going to move you in the same way because it isn't real. It's nothing but an affectation designed to appeal to the vanity of the wealthy.

quicklime 4y ago

Sorry, but I do think this is unfair. There are a lot of people out there who love the way engines sound, and the increased engagement that a manual transmission brings to the driving experience. They aren't all "folks who have too much money", and I really hope this experience continues to be available to those who don't. There's no denying that cars with DCTs or EVs are faster and better on most metrics. But they are less fun for a lot of people.

caconym_ 4y ago
I think you are misunderstanding me a little. My car has a manual transmission and driving it is (oddly enough, since it's not a very fast or powerful car) one of the greatest joys in my life. It's wonderful to be so "close to the metal". My point here is that the products Robb Report is shilling are not going to provide this experience, much in the same way that the fake engine noise piped into the sound-deadened cabin of some midsize BMW pedestrian-killer doesn't reproduce the true music of a classic euro V8. A stick shift gizmo on an EV isn't going to move you in the same way because it isn't real. It's nothing but an affectation designed to appeal to the vanity of the wealthy.