In 2013, only 3.9 percent of cars sold were a manual transmission and I have a feeling that number is dropping. Especially in sports cars because of the fact that people only care about performance stats or the conveniences of paddle shifters. The high-end European sports car companies like Ferrari don't even offer a standard gearbox as an option anymore. The Dodge Viper, which was always a manual only car is now in the stages of ending production.
I have a theory about this, but I'm not sure if it's 100% accurate. Sports cars have always been about performance and groundbreaking technology. But what about the fun factor of driving one? I just don't see what's fun about; (Imitate 1st gear rev). "Click". (Imitate 2nd gear rev). "Click". (Imitate 3rd gear rev). "Click". Paddle shifters have really taken the fun out of driving a sports car.
I feel that the traditional H-pattern shifter is the best way to go. However, there's always been a burden with that and that's the clutch pedal. That ridiculous third pedal to the left that creates a series of driving issues. You have to let the clutch out at the right spot as you let in on the accelerator at the right amount of RPMs or you kill the engine. This is exactly why they suck driving when starting up a hill, rush hour traffic, parallel parking, etc. Other than that, they are a lot of fun to drive.
Now I have a business proposition and who wants to jump on it because I have an excellent idea to make the manual gearbox fun to drive again. So lets make the standard transmission a standard again. I am willing to work with any car company who is willing to make a sports car. I don't care if it's Ford, General Motors, Toyota, VW Group, etc.
My idea is to keep the H-pattern gear stick, but eliminate the clutch pedal. I call it the NCP-6 H-Gate Manual Transmission (NCP-6 stands of No Clutch Pedal, Six Speed). It would be a fine blend of a manual gearbox, but the simplicity of a semi-automatic transmission. The issue with other semi-automatic gearboxes is that they only use a sequential shifter, which means you shift with a gear stick that only moves up and down. My Idea is to accommodate an H-pattern shifter to a semi automatic transmission (something that has not been done since the Volkswagen Autostick transmission that was last made in 1976).
How will this be done? I have an idea on how it might work. Since the car does not know when to shift and you can't shift it without disengaging the clutch, a whole new computer hardware and software need to be developed. This software will need to know how to communicate with the gas pedal and and the automated clutch. For example, when slowly accelerating from a stop, the sensors in the gas pedal send vital information to the software which then tells the clutch how to properly engage. In this case slowly to not kill the engine. When taking off quicker, the clutch will know to engage faster. And when pressure is off the gas pedal, the clutch will disengage. This way you can shift gears and coast.
I think my NCP-6 H-Gate Transmission idea may be easier said than done, but I do think it's possible, and I do think it will bring popularity back into the manual transmission market. I know something like this would be successful because everyone who has driven a stick knows the burden of driving one is the clutch.
So that's what the NCP-6 H-Gate Manual is. A clutchless manual (or a semi-automatic with an H-pattern gear selector). Rather than a semi-automatic where you shift with a sequential gear stick or paddle shifters, NCP-6 H-Gate is truly a nostalgic piece where you shift like a manual, but don't need to press a clutch like a semi-automatic.
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