I like to think I've earned my reputation of rushing in where angels fear to tread

[rolanni]

So, I've been reading the owner's manual for the new car, trying to figure out what some of these, um, improvements are.  Honestly, some of the differences between the little green Subaru and Kineo couldn't be vaster if Kineo did, indeed, fly.

For instance. . . The little green Subaru had a PRNDL stick  (Park, Reverse, Neutral, Drive, Low); the new car has a PRNDM stick (Park, Reverse, Neutral, Drive, MANUAL), and two paddles on the steering wheel from which I am to manage my manual driving.

Can someone please explain the point of this to me?  I mean, I have what's supposed to be a Perfectly Good automatic transmissioned vehicle.  Why would I want to put it into "Manual" and then shift it like a motorcycle?  It seems like a really good way to screw up the transmission, in my view, besides being utterly useless, but I'm willing to learn better.

In other news, I have finished my final pass through the DetCon programming survey, and the coffee is gone.  In a few moments, I'm off to the sofa, with a red pen, a blue pen, a yellow pad and the printout of the Epiphany.  I expect, at some point, to acquire Feline Assistance.  And coffee.  Definitely coffee.

Today's blog post title comes to you courtesy of Warren Zevon.  Here's your link.

Comments

[bandicoot.livejournal.com]

As a die-hard manual transmission driver, I see the point in some situations. Not sure how others would use the option for a paddle manual, but on my road an automatic drives me nuts coming up the hill. They're always in the wrong gear, then they lurch dropping down. They also have too few gears for the road. At least the ones I've driven. With a manual (5 speed and 8 speed), I can be in the gear that works best where I know I want it. With an automatic, my blood pressure goes up substantially by the time I get home ;p

A paddle manual option, then, gives you the best of both worlds - in situations where you really want to get the gear you want, and in situations where you're in traffic and don't want to deal with stop and go with a clutch.

[jhetley.livejournal.com]

Like bandicoot I prefer manual, but our current Subaru is automatic because it is a multi-user car. I find that it "hunts" at certain speeds when climbing a long slope -- shifting down and up and down and up. There's a stretch on the slope up to the Berkshires on the Mass Pike where that really gets annoying if you are going the speed limit. It also lags when you *want* a downshift, like accelerating onto the interstate.

[bandicoot.livejournal.com]

Exactly.

[rolanni.livejournal.com]

I fear I lack the palate; none of that bothers me in the least, and I wouldn't know when I wanted a downshift, much less what to do about it.

The last time I drove a manual was more than 30 years ago and the second I got an automatic transmission car I Never Looked Back, so I expect I am not this "feature's" intended audience. Sadly, since the PRNDM deprives me of Low Gear, which one does use, in winter, I'm going to have to come to some sort of accommodation...

[bandicoot.livejournal.com]

I hear you. In winter, I think you'll find the paddle mode useful if you play with it enough now that you have a good feel for what it does.

[jhetley.livejournal.com]

You may have mentioned it elsewhere, but what year car is Kineo? Our Forester is a 2008, and it lacks that "feature."

[rolanni.livejournal.com]

Kineo is a 2010 Legacy.

[ckd]

Go into paddle mode, and use that to downshift into low?

[melita66.livejournal.com]

If it's like mine (2008 Honda Fit Sport, AT), it won't allow you to ruin the transmission. If I try to shift at the wrong speed/RPM, the software will block it and just stay at the same gear.

[rolanni.livejournal.com]

Well, that's a relief. And I must say that, in general, Subaru does pay attention to details and tries to make sure things aren't easy to break...

[adina-atl.livejournal.com]

The main time I can imagine you wanting it is if you're stuck on/in ice or snow and need to rock out of it without spinning your tires.

[attilathepbnun.livejournal.com]

Such a feature would be totally useless for me, as I never managed to learn *how* to shift.

My father did try to teach me, but eventually gave up, saying he couldn't stand hearing what I was doing to the transmission. I just couldn't *co-ordinate* things ...

[muirecan.livejournal.com]

For certain types of mountain driving a manual transmission is better than an automatic and for towing. Generally you want to remain in low gears longer while getting your vehicle and towed item moving so a manual transmission tends to work better. Mind you a lot of vehicles have opted instead to add a tow-haul button which changes the programming for the automatic transmission but some people just like to be hands on for that sort of thing.

Anyway those are generally the reasons I know of for having a manual over an automatic transmission.

Mountains

[daughterofhonor.livejournal.com]

I live near the Sierra Nevadas. That option would help save your brakes, unless your automatic had the older option of multiple lower gears. (There are two passes near here. Given the speed limits and grade of each, the same car will require a different lower gear to keep the car at a legal/reasonable speed.)

[pgranzeau.livejournal.com]

Considering where you live and that you probably don't even have a trailer hitch, I'd just ignore M mode completely. Did you ever use L on your old car? Unless you did, you don't need M.