Does anyone else miss having a hand brake?

I was talking to someone recently who said that a lot of USA built cars had the foot-park-brake.

Did they ever put it on Manual Transmission cars? I can't see how that would have worked for say a hill-start?

 

Hardly anyone in the States has a manual?

Funny, our previous Civic had a traditional "hand brake" style parking brake. When we got our Prius, that Civic remained in the family, but I would still occasionally drive the Civic.

Every time I hopped in the Civic I would be stepping with my left foot, searching vainly for the parking brake. That was after I'd discovered I needed to fish the keys out of my pocket.

 

going back to my parents 56 chevy, all foot brakes. don't know if or when they had hand brakes.

you just have to make a quick move from the brake to the gas as you release the clutch, but it's not san francisco around here

 

there are a lot of manuals here, just not u.s. cars. even honda had a manual accord here until a few years ago.
our 90's ford ranger was a manual with foot brake. i had a 60's manual gm pick up, still a foot brake.

 

Yeah my first attempt at getting drivers license, I was learning with a 58 VW Bug. Have less than fond memories of trying to parallel park on a steep hill.

 

When thinking of my next car - the thought of a lovely 6sp Manual keeps crossing my mind. Though having owned a few Autos, manual is still in my blood. Only downside is in stop-start traffic. I could always get better economy from a manual - autos showed as better in the official tests, but in real life, the manual was better.

 

my left leg (your right) can't take stop and go highway traffic anymore. last manual was age 50. fun on the back roads, but around here, even they are congested, and you don't get to shift much.

the worst thing is getting stuck behind traffic at speed between 2nd and 3rd, and neither is comfortable.

 

Actually - I think we use the same foot - just our steering wheel is on the "right" side.

 

oh? that's interesting. makes sense i guess, since most people are righties? but then again, you're shifting with your left hand.

 

Honda still sells the manual Accord in the US; they're as rare as hen's teeth, but they're out there and available. (I walked through my local Honda dealer a few weeks ago with a friend thinking about a new car and didn't find any on their lot).

 

interesting. my sil drove them for years but switched to camry a few years back when she was told they were no longer available. maybe that dealer

 

I've found with the last couple of times I've been buying cars, the dealers don't stock manuals - test drive - oh, sorry. That's part of what has driven people to opt for autos, because there isn't a manual to try, nor any in stock, so an order in is full retail.

Little do they know that they're missing out on great manuals these days, clutches have improved in feel and sensitivity, and most are now 6 speed, with a good shift. Engines have better torque spreads so less shifting.

 

Not really, although I remember being caught by the father of my friend, Mike, who had just become the owner of an MGA 1600 which was his pride and joy. Mike's Dad was the owner the garage where I pumped gas as a teenager. Anyway one day his Dad asked me to move Mike's car as it was in the way, so I should have suspected his wide grin as he handed me the keys, I got in the car, started it, and that's as far as I got, for no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't release the hand-brake. What I didn't realize was that Mike, being an enthusiastic rally-driver, had fitted the car with a "racing" or "quick-release" hand-brake. This was the first time I'd come across such a thing, and no doubt provided much entertainment to the chaps working at the garage that day!

 

Last year i used mine in my 'Snow car' to whip my back end around and power out of a downhill slide. I would be sunk if I had my Prius.

 

Not sure if you remember the PEUGEOT 403 and early 404 - "column-shift four-speed gearbox with gate "reversed" (first down, up for second, and towards the wheel for third down and fourth up)" (WIKI). Really messes the mind up if you're driving a conventional column as well.

I well remember the MGA - my doctor had one, and when I was young I was 1) car mad; and 2) a bad asthmatic. Quite a few times, Mum called the doctor through the night - I didn't like it because I'd have a needle in my backside. But - it was worth it to hear the MGA turn the corner, 3 gearshifts coming up the street, and 2 as he slowed. Glorious sound.

15 yrs later I got to drive an MGB - and wondered at the excitement - the noise was great, but the rest of the car was ... ordinary.

 

Worse is that, if you don't ratchet it down enough, and feel it rolling, you can't give it another click. Oh, no - that takes it off altogether. We had a PREVIA/TARAGO at work, had it full of staff on board on the road to a conference, I parked on a hill. I put the foot-hand-brake-thingy on, and it did that - fortunately I managed to hit the footbrake before the car in front.

 

No Bootlegger turns with the Prius, for sure...

 

What you just said...
Does not counter anything I said.

Totally different interior design aside....having a floor pedal brake, puts the brake, in a space that doesn't take up any other space in the cabin.
Whether or not you like the flying buttress or the console box...is a totally separate issue.

True Story.
When I first got my Honda Fit, I would come to a stop, put the vehicle in park, then often start tapping the left side of the floor with my foot looking for the Prius foot brake. I felt like one of those trained horses that count by using their hooves. Took me a little while to adjust back to the typical hand brake configuration.
I've got it now.

 

Yes and No for me. When I am stuck in traffic I would play with the parking brake release button. Now that it's a foot pedal, I have to remind myself that it's not a clutch pedal.

 

Ha! Many new cars don't have even a foot pedal. You drop it in park? It automatically engages. Our plug-in minivan has a button on the side of the dash. It can be programmed by the driver, at least, as to whether or not it automatically or manually engauges. Our Tesla didn't even have an ignition button. It knows someone's in the driver seat & detects the fob. Step on the brake put it in 'D' - & off you go. I wonder if there is anybody alive still - that still misses a crank start car.

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