2006 Civic 38 mpg manual 40 mpg automatic?

Honda's web site says the 2006 Civic gets EPA

38 mpg with the manual transmission and 40 mpg with the automatic.

What's "wrong" here?

Reply to
A. Smith
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nothing. the system's been programmed to shift for economy - after all, the ecu /does/ know how much gas is being injected. pretty simple.

Reply to
jim beam

Right! I think you'll have a hard time getting lower mileage/gallon with a stick than an automatic on any of the new cars.

Remco

Reply to
Remco

One more voice: In fact, this trend has been going on for several years. Many automatics have been trumping manual transmission cars for fuel economy, back to the mid/late 1990s or so, IIRC. "Variable Valve Timing and Lift Electronic Control" (VTEC) has been a big factor in this, IIRC.

Reply to
Elle

Yes, I noticed this same thing with the mpg on my 05 CRV.

Reply to
<catchafly

"A. Smith" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@corp.supernews.com:

Nothing at all.

Modern automatics are astonishingly efficient. Manuals are subject to user ineptness.

I'd say about 99.999% of manual transmission users cannot shift as well as a modern computer-controlled automatic. And that includes me.

Reply to
TeGGeR®

"Elle" wrote in news:RlhWe.106$ snipped-for-privacy@newsread3.news.pas.earthlink.net:

Automatics are far better than manuals all around these days. Computerized electronic controls trump human brains and muscles hands down.

Reply to
TeGGeR®

I noticed some automatics were getting better mpg than a manual - sometimes only for city or highway. Can't remember which.

They both have their good and bad points. I love the control and "fun factor" of the stick, as long as I'm not in heavy traffic. ie - D.C. or Manhattan. That only happens sometimes for me when I drive there. Still bought a '05 Accord LX 5-speed and love the 5-speed. It'll be a pain to sell later, I know - but don't plan to sell any time soon. Been averaging

27 mpg w/mostly city and some highway. Got over 34mpg round trip between Baltimore County and NYC last week. The trip was mostly 65-80 mph with the a/c on during most of the trip.

-Dave

Reply to
Dave L

nothing. in a contrived and non-realistic test one gets better figures than another. Its a lot easier to program a computer to shift at different times, than it is to get a person to shift at the optimum times for these STATIC tests.

Reply to
flobert

"Dave L" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com:

I like my manual in any case. Just today I spent a half-hour blipping forwards a few feet at a time on the freeway to get past an accident. Better that than lose control the rest of the time with an automatic. Don't like trannies that change gear all by themselves...

Or the 405 in LA at rush hour(s)...

Reply to
TeGGeR®

This last sentence is quite the bizarre statement. Are you saying that you can't maintain care and control of a vehicle with an automatic transmission? If you're not saying that, what thought exactly are you trying to convey? {;^)

Brian

Reply to
Brian Smith

I think the sentiment is the same I have with automatic transmissions - they choose the gear they think is best, which isn't always suited to my purpose. It is more often a subjective thing than an objective thing, but the bottom line is that 100% of the time the manual tranny is in the gear I want while an automatic rates more like 90%... with the remaining 10% being annoying. I especially hate automatic shifts on slippery roads. It's like having a demon give your car a little *nudge* whenever he feels like it.

My job takes me off-road a lot (I describe the job as "taking computer age skills to the end of bronze age roads in any weather at any time"). Some of the roads are intense 4WD, others are miles-long sand pits. Some people don't mind automatics in their trucks, but I had to borrow a truck with an automatic once and I swore I'd never do that again. It upshifted when it wanted, not when I wanted.

To each their own.

Mike

Reply to
Michael Pardee

what vintage automatic truck was it and did it have electronic shift control? and how can it upshift when you have manual over-ride?

Reply to
jim beam

It was a 1993 Ford F-250, but I doubt the new ones are any better. Our department standard is manuals, both for ruggedness and control, but the guy who originally had the truck insisted on an automatic. He was pretty odd anyway. Automatics can be forced to downshift but (most) can't be forced to upshift. You can allow it to shift, but the actual upshift takes place when it's ready, not when you're ready.

I also can't stand the loss of being able to tell when the wheels are spinning by listening to the engine sound - but for those who never encounter mud, snow or ice it probably isn't a consideration.

I agree that automatics are nice for driving around town or on the highway in good conditions.

Mike

Reply to
Michael Pardee

don't get me wrong, i'm not knocking your preference, but i don't understand the upshift bit. it /can't/ upshift if you're manually over-riding it. if you want it to shift "prematurely" for traction in snow or mug, it shouldn't matter once you're under way. and with the honda, you /do/ have the ability to pull away in "2", where first gear will not engage.

Reply to
jim beam

"each" is singular, therefore it's "to each his own".

Reply to
Elmo P. Shagnasty

That's our confusion - my complaint is that they don't always upshift when the shifter is moved to allow it. Unless the lower gear has been held longer than the tranny would have held it, the tranny will wait until it thinks the shift should be made. Again, in good driving conditions it is a minor annoyance. In slippery conditions it is intolerable.

That truck I borrowed was the one I had when I was sent out in a snowstorm. The freeway was moving as much as 40 mph in sheltered areas and as little as

5 mph in the worst. Since downshifting is the same as braking as far as slippery roads are concerned, I wanted it to favor the highest practical gear. Instead, the only way I could control what it did was to select a lower gear than I wanted. More than once on upslopes I reached places where the conditions were worse and I eased off on the gas to finesse my way through. Instead the demon transmission took that as a sign to upshift, with the little *nudge*. With a manual I would have been in that gear a long time ago.

Mike

Reply to
Michael Pardee

Sorry - I were confused ;-)

Say... isn't that his/her own? Or (shades of the 70s) "thon's" own?

Mike

Reply to
Michael Pardee

Reply to
Tom Wallace

Yeah, that's why some modern style manuals do now allow the plural in such conditions.

J.

Reply to
JXStern

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