Is Anyone Going Base Model?

[Edward43]

Glad someone asked about this, I was thinking of asking. So how does it work? You are cruising along at 70 mph on a standard transmission with cruise control on, you go up a hill, RPMs go down and the speed can't be sustained. Does the cruise control just release automatically, and do you get an indicator light on the dash? does it become 2nd nature to notice the hill, and downshift when you hear/feel the RPMs going down?

Speed and RPM's will drop when high gear can no longer maintain. You will instinctively drop a gear which releases cruise. You won't resume until high can pick it up again. It will seem very natural after about 50 miles on the highway. This transmission may behave a bit different if shifts are electric, and selected in a different way?

 

[Rickb]

Give me a clutch every time, it make driving sooo much more personal.

Oh to be young again and have 4 on the floor!.........or 5. Now it's paddle shifters which do provide an element of control for the savvy driver, but certainly not the same.

 

[Dusty921]

Base model for sure, but may also buy a set of P3 fenders and some old style wire wheels for cruising the Boulevard on Saturdays, been thinking of fabricating a more open rear skirt, again to show off cool wheels. Sunday night the Aero package goes back on, for the the wife's weekday commute.

 

[Jeff Porter]

Manual transmission all the way for me. I loathe automatic transmissions - they're so boring and make you feel frustratingly disconnected from the car. I realize the modern ones are actually quicker than manuals but boy are they boring. It bugs me seeing people in their paddle shift automatics who think that's anything like the real thing. The death of the true manual transmission in modern cars is really distressing to me.

I loathe autos so much I actually converted my '93 Maxima from auto to manual.

In fact, I loathe autos so much that on my Elio I would actually gladly pay $800 to $1,000 MORE to get it in a manual over an automatic! Thankfully the situation is the other way around, though.

All I want is a manual transmission and cruise control.

Did I mention I loathe auto transmissions?



Both of my two 20+ year old Nissan Maximas (both manual tranmissions) have no problem automatically increasing the revs to account for inclines when in 5th gear and on cruise control. I would be shocked if any factory cruise control system on a manual transmission equipped car did not do the same.

Good to know! Thanks James.

 

[Jeff Porter]

Can't recall ever using CC while in 4th gear. Works fine in 5th gear in my manual transmission Subaru. I don't believe you can go fast enough in 1st-3rd gears for the CC to engage.

Ah I see. With an automatic you can set cruise control at 30 mph, maybe less. I don't see it as a deal-breaker certainly, only able to set CC in the top gear on a manual. Makes sense. Thanks c0yote.

 

[Jeff Porter]

Only option for me will be cruise control. Haven't decided on color yet. I've always been a "don't-care-about-color" on my cars. On the Elio, get to choose!

In the past I never wanted to give the car lot salesman any negotiation advantage. "Oh Jeff, I know this car is $7000 more than you wanted to spend, but it's that nice deep maroon color you wanted!" lol

 

[Johnapool]

Glad someone asked about this, I was thinking of asking. So how does it work? You are cruising along at 70 mph on a standard transmission with cruise control on, you go up a hill, RPMs go down and the speed can't be sustained. Does the cruise control just release automatically, and do you get an indicator light on the dash? does it become 2nd nature to notice the hill, and downshift when you hear/feel the RPMs going down?

I have a standard tranny with cruise control, and like most relatively late model vehicles, the cruise simply releases after a 10 mph drop in speed. That forces you to either downshift or apply more power, In most cases, you almost have to downshift, 'cause you've already lost 10 mph, making it more difficult to regain cruising speed w/o downshifting. Of course, if you had lots of horsepower under the hood, that situation would never occur.

Has anyone had experience with an "automatic manual transmission"?

 

[skygazer6033]

As it stands right now I plan on a black base, AMT with cruise. Planning to add a deep silver trim similar to one of Silas Sunday's designs. As far as cruise operation with the AMT I see no reason it shouldn't downshift to a lower gear while operating on cruise. As long as the shift selector in in the automatic mode (clunk and all). In manual mode it would be just like a normal 5 speed manual. If you run out of manifold pressure (wide open) and the RPM is bleeding off it'll disengage. It's up to you to downshift and re-engage the cruise.

 

[thomwin]

Auto & cruise. I love a standard, but for daily driving my old knees and ankles like those options. Everything else bone stock. I do want mine in black.

 

[outsydthebox]

Auto & cruise. I love a standard, but for daily driving my old knees and ankles like those options. Everything else bone stock. I do want mine in black.

Welcome to the family.