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I recently got into a debate with someone I reguard as a complete ********. The topic of the debate was European vs American transmissions and the ******** in question claimed that all European manual transmissions went into reverse the German style, that is you press down and then move the stick all the way left and then up. My contention was that the ******** was a ******** and that he had no idea what he was talking about.
To make my point I said: that every British designed car I had ever seen had used the same manual transmission design of every American car I had seen. That is the reverse gear was all the way to the right and then down. I pointed out the Rootes Group built Sunbeam Alpine my father used to own and which I had learned to drive on had such a transmission, I pointed out that my best friend in high school drove a Rover 3500 (in Europe called a Rover SD-1) which also had an American style transmission, I pointed out that when I was 18 I had a coworker with a Saab 900 (1970's edition) which used the American style all the way to the right and then down for reverse set up.
Of course, he claimed those were not really European cars and that real European cars used German manual transmission layouts. Now you see why I call this person a ********. OK, if British designed and built cars are not "European" enough and Swedish built and designed cars are not "European" enough then what is? Certainly, German cars use the backwards push down and then move left and up setting for reverse but who else does? My acquaintance said his mother's 2003 Saad used such a set up but I pointed out that by that time Saad was owned by Opel and used backwards German layouts. Volvo used the American layout since it was owned by Ford but he took that as proof Volvo's were not real European cars.
Certainly all Japanese cars use the same transmission layout as American cars but I don't know about Italian or French cars. I do know my grandfather's Peugot 504 had a column mounted manual transmission but to this day it's operation remains a mystery to me. Can someone tell me if Italian or French cars' had transmission like american or German cars or something entirely different?
To make my point I said: that every British designed car I had ever seen had used the same manual transmission design of every American car I had seen. That is the reverse gear was all the way to the right and then down. I pointed out the Rootes Group built Sunbeam Alpine my father used to own and which I had learned to drive on had such a transmission, I pointed out that my best friend in high school drove a Rover 3500 (in Europe called a Rover SD-1) which also had an American style transmission, I pointed out that when I was 18 I had a coworker with a Saab 900 (1970's edition) which used the American style all the way to the right and then down for reverse set up.
Of course, he claimed those were not really European cars and that real European cars used German manual transmission layouts. Now you see why I call this person a ********. OK, if British designed and built cars are not "European" enough and Swedish built and designed cars are not "European" enough then what is? Certainly, German cars use the backwards push down and then move left and up setting for reverse but who else does? My acquaintance said his mother's 2003 Saad used such a set up but I pointed out that by that time Saad was owned by Opel and used backwards German layouts. Volvo used the American layout since it was owned by Ford but he took that as proof Volvo's were not real European cars.
Certainly all Japanese cars use the same transmission layout as American cars but I don't know about Italian or French cars. I do know my grandfather's Peugot 504 had a column mounted manual transmission but to this day it's operation remains a mystery to me. Can someone tell me if Italian or French cars' had transmission like american or German cars or something entirely different?
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