On the eve of my Labor Day Monday, I was reading about the revised Audi TTS in Automobile Magazine. They make mention of their revolutionary DSG transmission design, but nowhere is there mention of a manual transmission, with an actual clutch and gear selector.
This troubles me. I am also troubled that only 10% of new Ferrari’s sold today are built with a manual. I grew up thinking that there was no greater gift in the world of autos than to guide that shift knob through that gorgeous chromed gated shifter. I am a Formula 1 race fan, and I see the appeal of driving a production Ferrari like a race car. But to me..you are driving an automatic.
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With the move to Mazda, life has changed around the Grant household, and my writing has changed with it. Leaving home at 6 am & not coming home till 8 ish every day (except for today…I was early at 7) doesn’t leave an awful lot of energy for anything. Being the freak that I am though, my mind is always running on like a slant six with bad gas. There isn’t a day goes by that I don’t have more than a few automotive thoughts & for the next little while I think I’m going to share some of my rambling thoughts.
As I mentioned yesterday, my new ride is a Mazda 6 wagon. It’s got a V6, with a 5 speed manual tranny. It may be the nicest Volvo I’ve ever driven. Yep…you read right, this Mazda feels like a Volvo. Joe at My Ford Dreams has some thoughts about this platform concept, but I’m not even sure if this thing shares a platform. I’ll have to look into that.
We picked up the new Kart engine last weekend & I finally got a chance to do the swap tonight. It is now on the kart & it runs, but doesn’t idle worth a crap. Since I’ve used the carb from the old engine, I think I’ve just got a varnish issue which I’ll deal with before practice.
Did I mention that the Mazda 6 wagon is wide enough that a kart will fit in the back?
A tech I know was killed on his new motorcycle on Wednesday evening. Hit by a car when he swerved to avoid an animal. I don’t know what more to say than it’s very sad. He was a really nice guy and a good mechanic.
Tomorrow is my birthday & I don’t know if I’ll have time to write, but if I get any cool car stuff, I’ll be sure to post pics over the weekend.
Also, don’t forget to visit Mark at Tapscott Behind the Wheel tomorrow to check out the weekly Carnival of Cars.
