Why are column shifters virtually gone these days?

Mercedes uses them in their automatics

Transmissions aren't physically shifted by anything anymore. Having a floppy stick doesn't make sense when you can just use buttons or a knob.

All plebs.

youtube.com/watch?v=BdJxBqe27zA

>TFW No 5 on the tree

Not really.

Buttons seem like an awful idea.

>Opps i fat fingered the wrong button and now my car is in park or reverse

at least with a shifter you have an idea of what you're shifting into.

Aren't Fords fitted with column shifters?

Manual transmission column shifters.

No more RWD land barges to pull sweet J turns with.

are those just an American meme?

I've never seen them in Australia and they always confused my when I saw them in American movies.

I thought it was your handbrake or something

Not in any recent ines I've been in, but I'm pretty sure the police explorers do because there's a computer in the way.

Floor shifters are thought of as more sporty. Plus it's cheaper to make because the shift cable doesn't have to be as long. In many RWD floor-shifted cars, the shifter goes straight into the transmission, bypassing cable linkages entirely.

Some cars are meant to have column shifters, such as pickups, minivans, and full-size family cars. But they're horribly out of place in the vehicles people actually buy these days.

>at least with a shifter you have an idea of what you're shifting into.

Not really on a PRNDL straight line shifter, Some might have shift gates that prevent you from going into reverse at 60 but older trucks and cars feel like a rod rubbing against some lumps. On a lot of cars the only to tell what gear your in is by feeling the car roll or looking at the dash indicator. Hundreds of people have died this way.

Most of the last decade plus of column shifters weren't physically attached to anything, either- most vehicles with them were either fullsize sedans or minivans, both with electronically-controlled transmissions like the Ford AOD-E and 4R70, the GM 4L60, or the Chrysler A60x.

I used a column shifter for the first time ever (rented a GMC Sierra from UHaul to buy some plywood). Shit was so vague and floppy, hated having to really look at the dashboard to know what gear I was in.

You're just not used to it.

Once you drive it for a while you get a feel of the detents as you pull down on it.

I have that issue when I drive any automatic.

I own 3 vehicles, and they're all 5 spd manuals.

I guess you're right about getting used to it, but it just had so much slop within the detents, I'm used to normal floor-mounted autos, which have like no slop in the shifter.

Correct you are.

Mercedes has them, at least in the E-class and SUV's

Why couldn't they do a dash shifter like in a minivan?

Because then the dash shifter would take up space in the center console area. Remember different departments are going to have different amounts of shit attached to the dashboard and center area as it is- the more free space available, the better. Not to mention the officers themselves needing room to work the equipment, carry shit, fill out paperwork, etc.

The Taurus interceptors come with a column shifter as well, but because they're still based off the standard Taurus with its full center console, there still isn't as much room as the old Crown Victorias.

Why the christ would a car that expensive not have a paddle shifter

>blacks don't go for the gay shit.
My nigga hit up craigslist in any area with any black community. 50% blacks in the population? 80% of craigslist ads.

>electric car with only one gear
>paddle shifters

...

Most cars with column shifts have a couple screws under the steering column or near the pedals holding the assembly straight- slop or looseness in the shifter is often a result of one or more of those screws becoming loose or working themselves out entirely over years of use, especially likely in a rent-a-truck abused left and right.

They're still here, you're only gonna find them in base model pickup trucks like almost all of GM's trucks or police cars.

Automakers are trying to be innovative with the shift. By that they're turning them into dumb dial shifts or rotary shifters. I don't know why, but hey why the hell not?

my old truck still does. though i think you're talking about an automatic.

Maybe they'll bring back the pushbuttons that were all the rage in the 60s.

Mercs still do use them.

So fucking C O M F Y

My grandmother drove my car the other day and tried to put it in drive with the windshield wiper controls.

Did she snap it off?

I do this constantly whenever I visit my dad. He owns a newer minivan with one of those dash-mounted shifters, the car I'm used to has a column shifter, every time I get in the van the first thing I do is accidentally turn on the wipers.

Nigga those are the windshield wiper stocks.

Then where's the shifter?

I saw pushbuttons shifts in some Lincolns during my visit at the autoshow.

Nah, I think they moved those over to the turn signals. You have to twist it to turn it on. My shitty Benz had that.

Most autotragics are electronically controlled these days. Don't need a cable to select the operating mode on some trannies, so they got rid of it. And no cable needed, no lever needed. Get rid of that too.

...

Still inferior to the volume knob shifter.

...

/bigguy/

So what's this?

Newer Mercs have rain sensing wipers so you never really touch the switch

Is that basically a straight line shifter on the side of your steering column? I'm guessing you need to hold down the button to move it?

Push up to go into reverse
Push down to go into drive
Push the silver button to park
Nudge it half way in either direction to put the car into neutral

What a strange system.

>yfw Tesla uses Mercedes shifter stalk

forgot pic

What is that pulse looking chart behind the wheel?

My old falcon was a three speed manual with column shift.

pros:
>can fit three people comfortably in a single cab ute

cons:
>busted ass linkage kills all the shift feel
>these were known as the 'windscreen puncher' because people frequently fucked it up going for 2nd gear

You could probably have a nice 5 speed setup now that engineers can transmit a bit of feel through modern bowden cables. It's certainly better than a floor shifter in a 3 seater ute.

It seems strange, but you get used to it so fast. There have been several times where I tried changing gears on other cars and just ended up turning on the wipers

who's gonna sit in that center seat???

ur mum