Ford’s Vibrating Shifter Teaches Newbies How to Drive a Manual

[n2doc]

BY DAMON LAVRINC




Manual transmissions are better. Period. End of story. Yes, yes, we know. Sequential and dual-clutch transmissions change gears faster than any mortal possibly can, which is why even Porsche — Porsche — requires paddles instead of a proper lever in its flagship model. But unless your name is Sebastian Vettel or Sebastian Loeb, driving isn’t about putting down the fastest time. It’s about having the most fun. And on that score, flicking a lever always beats squeezing a paddle.

Of course, properly shifting a car is a skill, one increasingly being lost as automatics and — gasp! — CVTs become the norm. Which is why we’re stoked to hear an engineer at Ford has made it easier than ever for n00bs to learn how to properly row their own gears.

Zach Nelson, a junior engineer at Ford, ripped the haptic feedback motor out of an Xbox 360 controller and put it inside a custom shifter he printed on a MakerBot Thing-O-Matic. He installed an Arduino controller and connected an Android tablet with a mini-USB port and a Bluetooth receiver, then tapped the Mustang’s on-board diagnostic system using Ford’s open source OpenXC software platform.

more

http://www.wired.com/autopia/2013/07/ford-shifter/

[NoOneMan]

1. How does this help people learn better than an auditory or visual queue?

Like a motor or a tac (or the combination)?

[Liberal_in_LA]

2. why? most cars are automatic these days

[Fawke Em]

17. Because manuals get better gas mileage

and some of us who are sports car enthusiasts happen to LIKE the control a manual gives the driver.

Will be teaching my 14-year-old son soon how to drive a manual.

[Agschmid]

21. I learned a stick and I love it...

I learned by being give t he option of getting a stick for free or having no car... So I learned!

[Hoyt]

3. As one who drove with manual shifts for decades, today's auto trans are quite good.

I'm sure buggy whips were fun, but those horse drawn carts aren't practical in most cases nowadays. At times, I miss a clutch, but most times I'm happier with an auto transmission.

[dembotoz]

4. manual trans are just cooler

[Agschmid]

22. I think it's sexy to downshift... :)

[reformist2]

5. Meh. I could care less about the transmission.

[dixiegrrrrl]

11. Reason I care is because manual transmission gives much better milage.

[Brother Buzz]

16. Newer automatic transmissions give the same highway mileage as a manual transmission

or even slightly better if the transmission has "overdrive".

[Buns_of_Fire]

6. Ooooo! Kinky! nt

[NV Whino]

7. Oh good, one more high tech thing to go wrong

With one exception, all my vehicles have been manual transmission.

[LeftofObama]

8. I had a Ford Escort in 1983.

I thought it was the coolest looking car I had ever seen. I told the salesman that I couldn't buy it because I didn't know how to drive a stick shift. He told me that I couldn't screw up because there was a light on the dash that would come on when it's time to shift. I took it out for a test drive and bought it the same day. That light that told me when to shift was what made the sale!

[FSogol]

9. Pretty cool, thanks for posting. n/t

[SheilaT]

10. It's not that hard to learn to drive a stick.

Really. I taught both of my sons, including the one with Asperger's.

Personally, I've decided that when the day comes I can no longer drive a stick it will be time for me to give up driving altogether.

What I HATE about the times I need to rent a car is that they only have automatics.

Plus, I feel rather safe from being carjacked, given how young'uns today pretty much don't know how to shift.

[dixiegrrrrl]

12. There is an opposite problem to driving only sticks.

Few months ago had to borrow my neighbor's automatic for a store run while my car was in the shop.
She had it running when I walked over and got it.
When I came out of the grocery store, I could not get the damn thing to start.
So I waved over a couple of the shopping cart guys for help.
Turns out I was not stomping on the brake and it was not in park.
I drove slowly away while a bunch of whippersnappers were holding their sides and laughing at me.

[SheilaT]

19. Oh, I know. It's happened to me.

I learned that it has to be in park to start, but I have no idea when they made it that you had to be pressing down on the break to "shift" it into drive.

Condolences for having to put up with the young whippersnappers.

[KG]

13. quickly learned how to shift a manual, and have owned both. but have always preferred automatics.

[NoGOPZone]

14. A shaker stick for cars. Interesting. nt

[roamer65]

15. Gas mileage has really improved on automatics.

My Chevy Sonic automatic only gets about 1-2 mpg less than the manual one.

[Fumesucker]

18. It's easier to beat the EPA numbers in a manual

Often you can't keep the transmission in a high enough gear for maximum mileage with a lot of automatics, they want to shift down when staying high would do better for efficiency.

Not so much traveling on the highway but at lower speeds around town, that's when you can beat an auto with a manual for efficiency by short shifting it to high gear as fast as the driveline will stand it without bucking.

[gulliver]

20. But how do you text if you have a manual?