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View my fuel log 2023 Mirage BE 1.2 automatic: 36.5 mpg (US) ... 15.5 km/L ... 6.4 L/100 km ... 43.8 mpg (Imp)
Seems like a decent thread to throw this out there. It doesn't sidetrack the thread too bad. 10 years or so ago, I had a dream about having a (Dodge Ram) vehicle that had BOTH an automatic and manual trans. I'm sure it could be done, but would suffer from less efficiency overall, but not too bad. Let's pretend we had such a thing. It would be like this:
If you wanted to drive it as a manual, the automatic would be set to some position like M. Put the auto shift lever into M mode and then drive it with the 5 speed shifter as manual (using the clutch). If you want to drive it as an automatic, start with the automatic in Neutral, push the clutch and put the manual shifter into 4th gear (or whatever gear may be 1:1, for most normal engine operational speeds), let out the clutch (it would go nowhere), then place the automatic shifter into D mode, and drive it like an automagic transmission, ignoring the clutch pedal. Get it up to speed out on the interstate, push the clutch, shift it into 5th, let out the clutch and it would have some serious O.D. for mo' bettuh mpgs. Then you wouldn't want to sell your car.
The problem is, that would be expensive, and everyone would find themselves driving in the same mode 99% of the time (probably automatic). Hence why there are some may more automatics.
I'll be honest, if I had 2 of these tow rig racecar Mirages sitting in the driveway, one a 5MT and one a CVT, I have a feeling I'd find myself in the CVT most of the time.
Dirk - Let's have an experiment. Leave your HB with me for the next 6 months, and I'll let the forum know which I drive the most, mine or yours.
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View my fuel log 2020 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 42.4 mpg (US) ... 18.0 km/L ... 5.5 L/100 km ... 51.0 mpg (Imp)
mohammad (05-01-2023)
Actually Chrysler ( and maybe others) had this in the late "30's into the "50's. It was called the "fluid drive". You used the clutch to engage your gear & after that, just drive it like an auto or a manual, depending on the requirement. https://56packardman.blog/2015/01/10...s-fluid-drive/ will give you an idea of the operation... I drove a couple of them & they were kinda spooky till you got the hang of them...
Last edited by klroger; 05-02-2023 at 01:00 AM.
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View my fuel log 2018 Mirage GT 1.2 automatic: 37.3 mpg (US) ... 15.9 km/L ... 6.3 L/100 km ... 44.8 mpg (Imp)
At one time we had a 2005 Hyundai XG350 luxury sedan that had an automatic & manual mode for a driver's education car. I called it a stick shift for dummies, because it was shifted without the use of a clutch pedal. Not all manuals require a clutch to shift. My 1985 & 1996 Honda ATVs are 5 speed manuals that are shifted without a clutch lever. Unlike a motorcycle with as left side clutch lever, these machines don't have a clutch lever. You just let up on the gas & shift with your left foot. The ES (easy-shift) Honda ATV models allow you to do it with a push of a button on your left side (right hand is manipulating the throttle).
The XG350 had a gear indicator light telling you what gear you were in. It was the nicest car that we were ever given to use with students. Rumor was the owner of our driving school bought the car for his wife, and she didn't like it. Thus, he turned it over to the driving school. Sadly, it didn't stay in our town very long. Another town needed to borrow it. We were told they crashed it, but I think that was said so we wouldn't ask for it back.
Yeah I agree. Push button start, door unlock button are super convenient. I used to own the Prius for nearly 5 years.
Just did groceries delivery order today for the customer and I’m already feeling the annoyance of not having the trunk release button on key fob especially on the hurry.
Too bad dealers don’t get many SE as much as the BE. I swear they really think the BE would get much better profit than SE when BE is just cosmetics. Guess it clever marketing on Mitsubishi Motors part.
Zero, 2014 ES Plus 5MT, written off but not forgotten.
Zero II, 2014 SE, 5MT, climate She's HOME now!
Shelby AKA "Cute", 2017 ES 5MT, A/C.
Mirage owners look at the world differently than everyone else, but in a better way
We're driving the Beetle of the 21st century, the greatest small car now available!
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View my fuel log 2017 Mirage ES PLus 1.2 manual: 39.0 mpg (US) ... 16.6 km/L ... 6.0 L/100 km ... 46.8 mpg (Imp)
The BE is no slouch though in the amenities department IMO. My wife's 2022 BE comes with unique 15" black alloys, an added OEM center console/armrest (the SE only comes with an armrest with no storage), fog lights, unique red accented stitching and fabric patterns, fog lights, faux-leather steering wheel. The SE only adds push button start, proximity key, and the upgraded dash. Those are cool but not worth another $2k IMO.
While at Hyundai, we did some study / investigation, and I flew to CA to a "port" that had thousands upon thousands of XG350s. These cars were all badly suffering from lot-rot. They were complete and utter sheeat, and Hyundai knew it. The meeting was a sort of, "look at this ... what can we do?" I can't imagine seeing one that wasn't crap. I can totally understand why his wife didn't like the car. Not saying what you experienced wasn't true. I just can't imagine it. If you saw what I saw on that trip, holy cow.
On a side note on that trip, I was one of 2 maybe 3 Americans that joined on that trip. The port staff had arranged for a very nice tour bus ride from the airport, up scenic highway 1 on the coast. I was sitting on the front row of the bus. The driver and his coworker were port workers. There was maybe 20 Korean guys in this limo-bus thing behind me. I took a picture overhead pointing back at those guys. Every single one of them was asleep, heads drooped over. And here we are at one of the most beautiful places in America, and they're all asleep. The 2 guys at the front who had arranged this were just sitting there shaking their heads in disbelief, as was I to a degree. They could have just put us in any old bus and hit the superslab, but went out of their way to be cordial, to no avail.
On edit: Thinking back on that trip, I never considered it would be something I would ever tell a tale about. However, I did show that picture to all my American coworkers, and we all just laughed and laughed and laughed, which is what we did nearly every day at the absolutely stupid and asinine things the Korean engineers did.
One other cute little story while I'm editing, it's worth reading this long paragraph! One time we're in a vehicle quality review meeting. There's a vehicle (Sonata) sitting inside a room inside the plant. And everyone is reviewing every issue found on the vehicle, issue by issue. But the Americans were all standing back, and off to the side. Because the Korean engineers all piled in on top of one another. It looked like a pile of football players at the end of a gang tackle. I mean, laying all over each other. And actually, I find nothing wrong with that. Their culture is way different. They have zero (I don't know the proper wording here so forgive me) gay concerns. Heck, just last week a guy in from China was all over me, hands on my shoulders legs, whatever. It's just their culture. Asians are just more "close." I have no issue with that, because I know it's their culture and they're not at all making a move on me (who would, I'm uglier than Shrek). Anywho, American culture we don't lay all over each other so in they Hyundai meeting we were waiting back unto they cleared out of the way. We're standing near a table and some guy picks up these little tiny rubber covers and rolls it down barely covering his fingertip and asks the group of us, "What are these things?" And without thinking about our environment, I blurted out, "Korean condoms." And every American man there (about 20 of us) completely ripped out screaming laughing right in the middle of this serious meeting. It was the funniest thing I may have ever experienced. All the Korean engineers stopped and were looking at us quizzically and because we disrupted the whole meeting. It was BAD to disrupt, and we knew it. Yet it happened so spontaneously that even the fact we were inadvertently disrupting the meeting was funny too, and made us laugh even harder. The Koreans never knew what we were laughing about, I might have got in some trouble if they had. Some really great times, obscured by the insanity of what was going on around us.
Last edited by 7milesout; 05-02-2023 at 01:37 PM.
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View my fuel log 2020 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 42.4 mpg (US) ... 18.0 km/L ... 5.5 L/100 km ... 51.0 mpg (Imp)