What was Wrong with Column Autobox Shifters

[thatdude]

BarbaricAvatar said:

Vanin said:

Sorry if this has been discussed before but it seems much more logical to have a lever on the column to change the gears so that you do not have to look down to check, you free up space in the centre and you do not have the ridiculous situation of forward for reverse and reverse for forward.
The old Borg Warner Model 8 with column change was so simple.

How many people look down to change gear in a car they've owned for more than a month?

I dont know about you but I have to look at everything. I lean down to check my feet are on the right pedals, look to check I'm in the right gear, look to make sure I'm indicating and not puting on the wipers...


(sarcasm dosnt come over well on the internet does it?)

I think column shifters are not aestheticaly pleasing. There should be some sort of shifting lever in the centre. That being said, my model year honda civic (2005) has the gear stick going through the dash in a roundbaout sort of way freeing up loadsa space on the floor for a big cubbyhole (swallows CD and sweets). But it's still in the centre where one expects to find a gear stick.

[jkh112]

mph1977 said:

Clivey said:

I've never driven a car with a column chance manual box...I'd love to try it out of interest because they just look so quirky.

evil devices ...

I enjoyed the old mercedes I drove which had a column change manual box. It allowed a front bench seat and when combined with no seat belts allowed for great results if there was a good looking female passenger and some spirited cornering.

[Hol]

TheEnd said:

It was easier and simpler to just stick the shifting mechanism through the same hole the manual box would have, rather than have a separate steering column and cables etc and then have a redesigned centre console without a big hole in it.

I think the above is the most logical answer. Its just easier to use the existing hole and direct access to the gearbox.


The yanks do seem to like coulmn shift though. Every people carrier I have had on my holidays there has had a column shift. Including this years big Toyota jobbie.

[Skodaku]

mph1977 said:

evil devices ...

Nonsense, sir. In my younger days I owned a 1956 Vauxhall Velox with a 3-speed column change and a Mk1 Cortina 1500 DeLuxe Estate with a 4-speed column change. Both had bench front seats and uncluttered floor at the front. Perfect combination for proper "motor sport" for those in their earlier years and living with parents, (as we invariably did). The Velox was the star, of course. black paint, (hand-painted by a professional coach for about painter, (for about £20) , lots of chrome and the original owner had specified the interior trim from a "Cresta"... two-tone; Carnation and White complete with a valve radio. Just to complete the nocturnal usability, the handbrake was floor-mounted on the driver's right hand side. Always thought 1st gear was for towing houses or climbing cliffs. The 2262cc 6-pot would happily bimble off in 2nd and handle 3rd/top at sillily low speeds. Only 63bhp, IIRC but must have had decent torque.

They don't make 'em like they used to.

[Clivey]

jkh112 said:

I enjoyed the old mercedes I drove which had a column change manual box. It allowed a front bench seat and when combined with no seat belts allowed for great results if there was a good looking female passenger and some spirited cornering.

Which Mercedes was it?

[essayer]

silverfoxcc said:

SZ series Royces and Bentleys

Royce has it on the column
Bentley has it on the floor (more sporty!!)

Actually.. we used to have a Turbo R (1990) that had a column mounted shifter.

[GoneAnon]

Ozzie Osmond said:

but does leave the question of why German manufacturers seem determined to fit as many column stalks as possible to their cars! Four is going it a bit in my opinion.

Don't know about the others but Mercs only have 3 stalks:
Indicators/wipers/beam/flash
Cruise control
Column shift

The lights are on a switch on the dash.

[jkh112]

Clivey said:

Which Mercedes was it?

A 1950's 190. Black with a white interior. It was the car of choice for the James Bond baddies from that era.

[Mr E]

GoneAnon said:

Don't know about the others but Mercs only have 3 stalks:
Indicators/wipers/beam/flash
Cruise control
Column shift

The lights are on a switch on the dash.

The electric steering wheel adjust and heating are on a small stalk as well.

[poing]

I've always been confused with modern automatic cars and why they need any sort of lever, can't they just have a button on the dash for reverse when needed then let everything else happen automatically?

[mph1977]

poing said:

I've always been confused with modern automatic cars and why they need any sort of lever, can't they just have a button on the dash for reverse when needed then let everything else happen automatically?

which is what a lot of Commercial vehicle applications have

[PlayersNo6]

Previous shape Honda CRV has a column shift. I like them.

[Toltec]

jkh112 said:

mph1977 said:

Clivey said:

I've never driven a car with a column chance manual box...I'd love to try it out of interest because they just look so quirky.

evil devices ...

I enjoyed the old mercedes I drove which had a column change manual box. It allowed a front bench seat and when combined with no seat belts allowed for great results if there was a good looking female passenger and some spirited cornering.

When I learnt to drive we had a Renault 16 with column change and my instructor a Datsun Sunny with a normal centre lever. Never found it a problem, they were both h gates with the same four gear layout simply rotated into a different plane.

[Vanin]

poing said:

I've always been confused with modern automatic cars and why they need any sort of lever, can't they just have a button on the dash for reverse when needed then let everything else happen automatically?

You need to buy an Aston for that!

[GoneAnon]

Mr E said:

The electric steering wheel adjust and heating are on a small stalk as well.

That's too wee to count as a stalk!

[MadmanO/T People]

Vanin said:

poing said:

I've always been confused with modern automatic cars and why they need any sort of lever, can't they just have a button on the dash for reverse when needed then let everything else happen automatically?

You need to buy an Aston for that!

Not quite. The current Lincoln MKZ has buttons for the automatic gearbox on the dash.

[Mr E]

GoneAnon said:

That's too wee to count as a stalk!

I usually catch the cruise by mistake. I don't think I've ever caught the wheel adjust - so I accept your stalk classification.

[HD Adam]

I've got a Dodge Ram pick-up for work and it has a rather whizzy rotary dial for the gear select functions.

[WokingWedger]

I like cars to be different and its good to see alternatives in the controls ( although I am glad they standardized on the foot pedals many years ago !

[john2443]

mph1977 said:

Clivey said:

I've never driven a car with a column chance manual box...I'd love to try it out of interest because they just look so quirky.

evil devices ...

A schoolfriend used to drive his dad's Renault 16 with a column change - he swore that it was better than a floor change because you didn't have to move your hand far. I was never convinced!