Advantages of a Gated Shifter?
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My opinion
There were at one time several law suits against car manufacturers whose automatic transmissions would "slip" into gear when the car was parked and supposedly in park. Occasionally the car would then run over somebody or crash into something resulting in the lawsuits. I think the gated shifter is simply a way to ensure that doesn't happen. Of course any good car company spin doctor will try and claim it's a "performance" feature. That's what they get paid to do.
OpalBlue
There were at one time several law suits against car manufacturers whose automatic transmissions would "slip" into gear when the car was parked and supposedly in park. Occasionally the car would then run over somebody or crash into something resulting in the lawsuits. I think the gated shifter is simply a way to ensure that doesn't happen. Of course any good car company spin doctor will try and claim it's a "performance" feature. That's what they get paid to do.
OpalBlue
thanks opalblue, but that can't be it.
every car sold in the US has to have a safety feature that prevent the car from being shifted out of park without the brake being pressed. that's what the button next to the shifter is for, as an override of the safety feature, in case the battery is dead.
every car sold in the US has to have a safety feature that prevent the car from being shifted out of park without the brake being pressed. that's what the button next to the shifter is for, as an override of the safety feature, in case the battery is dead.
The gated shifter was "borrowed" from MB. In theory, it should allow you to shift manually up the gears one slot at a time and consequently downshift the same manner without skipping gears. In practice, it was MB's tranny that refused to shift at the correct time.
The gated shifter is a nice touch... technically you should be allowed to "manually" select which gear you want to use. I have found this not to be the case. It only lets you limit the gear. Meaning, if you have the shifter selected to the first gear, then switch to two, the tranny won't shift to that gear untill it decides to, not when you select that gear. This is pretty annoying because I like the feeling of having more control of the car (I would've gotten the manual but the slushbox made more sense so my family could drive it if they ever needed to.) In general I have found the gated shifter easier to use opposed to conventional automotic shifters...mostly because one doesn't have to push any button to shift.
Dennis
Dennis
Yea, but buttons sometimes stick or freeze "on". Kids and adults sometimes lean across or bump shift sticks not realizing they've moved it into an unwanted position. I had a grocery sack shift and push my Nissan Pickup out of gear once. Just because some law demands a design detail/safety feature doesn't mean it's a foolproof one. I suspect the gated automatic is a little bit anti-shift insurance and a little marketing and a little engineering. It could simply be that it is WAY EASIER to engineer an auto transmission to shift wthrough a gated pattern than a simple linear pattern. Probably saves parts/money and increases profits.
Could be!
OpalBlue
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654 Posts
1) No button on the knob.
2) Might be able to convince someone who doesn't look to hard it's a manual.
3) May allow easier selection of gears (I wouldn't know from much experience as my car has 3 pedals below)
2) Might be able to convince someone who doesn't look to hard it's a manual.
3) May allow easier selection of gears (I wouldn't know from much experience as my car has 3 pedals below)
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