# Manual / Automatic Transmission in USA **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 9, 2007, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manual-automatic-transmission-in-usa/387277 "2007-01-09T11:35:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Throatwarbler\_Mangrove](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8c91f0/32.png) [@Throatwarbler\_Mangrove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Throatwarbler_Mangrove)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2007, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manual-automatic-transmission-in-usa/387277/141 "2007-01-14T18:13:55Z")
Thank you, I’m aware of the difference between super and turbo, which is why I mentioned that the heavily turbocharged Subaru engine would not be very efficient if driven in 4th gear all the time, since the tiny 4 cylinder engine generates very little torque without the turbo boost, which in turn only spool up at a high enough RPM for the exhaust gases to generate the pressure. Saab uses turbocharged engines to increase fuel economy, by adding a “taller” gearing to their turbocharged models, without compromising speed, since the turbo adds more torque to make up for the difference in gearing. Since a supercharger does not rely on exhaust gases, I’m unclear as to what the corresponding effect would be on a supercharged engine. [Somewhat dated but comprehensive explanation](http://www.autozine.org/technical_school/engine/tech_engine_3.htm#Overview) At least, that’s my layman’s understanding. Supercharging is used much less frequently today, I think GM is the only company that uses them widely, Mercedes use to use them on their top-end models but have switched to turbo. With the introduction of variable geometry turbos, I think superchargers are becoming an anachronism (not unlike manual transmissions! 😛 ). ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Slant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@Mr.Slant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Slant)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2007, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manual-automatic-transmission-in-usa/387277/142 "2007-01-14T18:23:21Z")
[QUOTE=galen] Camrys are made in the USA. [/QUOTE] A point of no significance when interviewing at a Ford manufacturing plant in Ohio. I realize the whole import/domestic argument is crap, but that won’t keep my Camry from getting keyed some places and me from not getting hired at some others. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2007, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manual-automatic-transmission-in-usa/387277/143 "2007-01-14T18:30:44Z")
[QUOTE=Raguleader] Bah, I’m special today. The Mustang used a _Super_charged Merlin engine, not a Turbocharged one. The P-47 Thunderbolt was the fighter with the Turbocharged engine, and was apparantly an absolute beast because of the extra bulk involved with turbochargers in airplanes. [/QUOTE] And after reading this, I wonder if it would be possible to put a Rolls Royce Merlin engine IN a Ford Mustang? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2007, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manual-automatic-transmission-in-usa/387277/144 "2007-01-14T19:27:05Z")
[QUOTE=Raguleader] And after reading this, I wonder if it would be possible to put a Rolls Royce Merlin engine IN a Ford Mustang? 😃 [/QUOTE] At 1640+ lbs. and a length of 7 1/2 feet (before considering a transmission), I don’t think that it would be very comfortable to drop a Merlin into (or, more likely, on) a Ford Mustang. The few specially built cars that have used a Merlin have tended to be extra-long racers or limousines (or trucks). ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Slant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@Mr.Slant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Slant)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2007, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manual-automatic-transmission-in-usa/387277/145 "2007-01-14T19:55:15Z")
[QUOTE=tomndebb] At 1640+ lbs. and a length of 7 1/2 feet (before considering a transmission), I don’t think that it would be very comfortable to drop a Merlin into (or, more likely, on) a Ford Mustang. The few specially built cars that have used a Merlin have tended to be extra-long racers or limousines (or trucks). [/QUOTE] This thread needs a link to British madman Paul Jameson and his Merlin-powered road car. [http://www.superjohn.f9.co.uk/thebeast.htm](http://www.superjohn.f9.co.uk/thebeast.htm) ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2007, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manual-automatic-transmission-in-usa/387277/146 "2007-01-14T21:08:18Z")
[QUOTE=GorillaMan] A while ago I managed to find a link to a site which had breakdowns of European countries and American states for deaths per thousand passenger miles, but I’ll be damned if I can find it now. What I do remember is that the north-eastern states had low rates which compared with Britain and Germany, while the mid-west compared to Scandinavia and Greece. Road & weather conditions, and the likelihood of prompt medical assistance, easily are as important as driver training. [QUOTE=Mehitabel] Grandpa used to enjoy telling the story of driving on rutted dirt roads with a clutch, etc. and the time he visited his cousin’s farm on a Vermont hill so steep, he had to drive in reverse because the tilt was such the gas wouldn’t come out of the tank right at that angle. :dubious: [/QUOTE] I thought the reason for using reverse in such a situation was that the gear ratio was lower than that of first gear? [/QUOTE] Grandpa may have been referring to the [Model T](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Model_T). Many (if not all) had the fuel tank under the front seat and used a gravity feed rather than a pump, so it was common to back up steep hills so that the engine wouldn’t stall. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2007, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manual-automatic-transmission-in-usa/387277/147 "2007-01-14T21:15:43Z")
[QUOTE=OttoDaFe] Grandpa may have been referring to the [Model T](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Model_T). Many (if not all) had the fuel tank under the front seat and used a gravity feed rather than a pump, so it was common to back up steep hills so that the engine wouldn’t stall. [/QUOTE] My grandfather told me a similar story. Only in his version, cars driving up a hill had the right-of-way over descending cars because they had to make it up with whatever fuel was in their carburettor bowls. (But what if it’s a long hill? :dubious: ) ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2007, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manual-automatic-transmission-in-usa/387277/148 "2007-01-14T23:13:31Z")
Dad’s old Volvo cut out on Mum on the hill up to the house, one call out from our mechanic later and we found it was just that the fuel was all at the back of the tank. Letting it roll downhill until it could be pushed towards another downhill side street and then gently driven to a petrol station. Volkswagen have a new application for the supercharger, fitted to the new Golf GT in tandem with a turbocharger, the s’charger gives low down boost and cuts out when the turbo kicks in giving continuous boost all the way through the rev range. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2007, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manual-automatic-transmission-in-usa/387277/149 "2007-01-15T15:51:56Z")
[QUOTE=Mr. Slant] A point of no significance when interviewing at a Ford manufacturing plant in Ohio. I realize the whole import/domestic argument is crap, but that won’t keep my Camry from getting keyed some places and me from not getting hired at some others. [/QUOTE] Similarly if you’re a vendor, real estate agent, or someone else where your job necessarily involves a customer seeing your car, it’s often wise to ensure you have a Ford/GM/Chrysler product. Some vendors have mixed fleets and will take the make of car depending on who the customer is. I didn’t get my “big break” into the industry until I swapped out my second Civic for my first Bonneville. Coincidence? Yeah, probably, but I got keyed a lot less, too. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2007, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manual-automatic-transmission-in-usa/387277/150 "2007-01-15T16:07:19Z")
[QUOTE=MrFloppy] Viggen was also the name given to a high output version of the Saab 9-3 no doubt in reverance to the fighter plane. [/QUOTE] Hee. I’m guessing that the race between a Saab Viggen and a Bristol Beaufighter is much fairer on wheels than on wings. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2007, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manual-automatic-transmission-in-usa/387277/151 "2007-01-15T21:03:22Z")
[QUOTE=groman] Simply the explanation must be that anywhere outside of the United States (and possibly Israel) people drive like communists. 🙂 [/QUOTE] No, we drive like maniacs. As anyone who’s been on a Greyhound bus on Highway 115 doing 100 in a 90 zone on the tight curve at Enterprise Hill, _and still being passed_, can attest. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manual-automatic-transmission-in-usa/387277.md?page=7)