Why rat-maze automatics?

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Sage

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Two-part question:

1 Are rat-maze automatics made that way because it’s easier/cheaper mechanically (that is, the pattern somehow follows the mechanical pattern), or are they made that way only so that each spot can be “locked” into place without using a button on the stick?

2 If the answer to #1 is the latter, then why use the rat-maze pattern? What’s wrong with putting a button on the stick so that you can have a more straightfoward layout? In fact… how come today you have to buy a hyper-expensive car to get push-button automatics (e.g., Aston Martin DB9), but fifty years ago you could get push-button autos in some mainstream cars?
 
Good question, and I don't have a good answer.

My guess is that it largely depends on who is making the car, and what kind of car it is. Notice that in just about any GM vehicle you get the straight-slide automatics, while over at Toyota or Nissan, you often find the awkward gated setup. Why that is specifically, I do not know...

My guess is that for this to change, we'll have to see how the Jaguar-select setup works on the XF to see it trickle down into other cars from other automakers. This does indeed bring back memories of automatics that had push-buttons on the dash like a blender; Press one in, the others go out, press another in, others go out.

My guess is that the straight-line setup will stay, unless there is a "manual" option offered. What would be awesome though would be seeing the column shifter come back in a big way... Just so I can feel like a cop slamming it from park, to reverse, to drive...
 
Rat-mazes became popular after the Audi 5000 "unintended acceleration" fiasco.

Audi took such an undeserved bath on that car that all makers became instantly wary of any gearshift scheme that didn't force idiot owners to move the lever ONE painstaking NOTCH at a TIME, all the while standing on the brakes. This was supposed to prevent them from accidentally lurching, with the subsequent panicked stomping on the gas pedal instead of the brakes, that gave the 5000 its bad name.
 
Silly question time. What is a rat-maze automatic? I've never heard that term before.

Is it something like this where you need to move sideyways as well as up/down?

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That is what I assume they are talking about. I have never driven a car with one, so I do not know how useful they are for anything. I know a lot of cars have the tiptronic function outside of the main "maze" so you have to knock the selector sideways to acccess it.

Why? I do not know. Do they slide without a button? On the cars I have driven there is a trigger that needs to be pushed in to move the selector straight back. My guess is that they do that so the selector doesn't move when you don't want it to but they want it to look "cool" and they are too stupid to design a trigger release type thing.
 
My stepmother's former Altima had that issue, and whenever I drove it with that idiotic gated shifter, I'd always leave it in the wrong gear (usually third, locking it out of O/D).
 
My Corolla uses a straight line so I'd say it is one of the last Toyotas not using the "rat-maze."
That said, my Jag and Merc both used Rat-Mazes. :indiff:
I've never liked the Rat-maze for much other than the appearance of something different from the straight line shift. :indiff: Even then, I don't like it more, I just think it looks "cool" by comparison (though in use I preffer the straight line shifter). :dunce:

I don't know of any reason for their existance. :confused:
 
Dude, it's a Jaguar. That's all you need to know.

Also, I really don't understand how autos work. I don't know if there's a mechanical connection between stick and tranny, or if it's electronic, or what.
 
Most modern transmissions have an electronic connection with the transmission, but not all.

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On the J-Gate, I think it was just Jaguar's way of "being different," although I may be mistaken. I've never had an opportunity to use one, but I assume they thought it was intuitive somehow with manual overrides...
 
Much as I hate driving automatics, the "rat-mazes" are good for one thing in particular.

Overtaking.

With manual shifters, you can tell by touch what gear you're in... usually, unless it's a very close geared six-speeder (with seven detents instead of six plus one on a wide throw or by European pull-ring). With straight automatics, no such luck... well, with experience it's possible...

With a "rat-maze", while it's often more of a chore to get it into "D", it's easy to swipe it sideways into "3" for an overtake, or one down into "2" for an even quicker overtake. Important if your AT-equipped car has no pep at all, or if it has the brains of an ant (which might be giving it too much credit... ants have a hundred times the logic capacity of automatic transmissions.).

The problem with straights is that as you shift back up into "D", since the button on the stick is there to lock you out of "reverse" and not "neutral", you can overshoot "D" and go straight into neutral (okay, so I was a dumbass when I was younger... sue me). With the "rat-maze", you won't go back into "N" unless you really want to, since "3" to "D" is sideways.

I prefer "rat mazes" over standard "straight" trannies, but not by much. I prefer "manumatic" style transmissions with a +/- option.
 
I think niky has the answer nipped, aside from the occasional "just to be different" excuse. Also, I've never heard of the term "rat-maze automatics" before.

Why don't we just make things simple and all drive manuals? :sly:
 
I always thought the rat-maze shiftes were silly, but they give you the pretension of downshifting (which came in handy a few times when ***cough*** testing the limits of certain loaner cars that happened to be RX 330s, ES 300s, and IS 300s ***cough***). They were surpsingly intuitive when changing down from 5th to 4th or even to 3rd gear.

The Jaguar J-gate is fine if you're piloting a boat at 10 knots.
 
Stop and go traffic.
Done it many times. A change in driving style can eliminate a lot of clutch usage (don't follow every single movement of the car in front of you; hang back a bit and idle forward in first gear).

I'd rather drive a manual in stop and go traffic than an automatic in any situation.
 
I'd rather drive a manual in stop and go traffic than an automatic in any situation.
I wouldn't go that far, but you're right, it's not hard to drive a stick in traffic.
 
I'd rather drive a manual in stop and go traffic than an automatic in any situation.
Except in rush-hour traffic on the Palmetto Expressway when there's an accident...in the rain. Moving 7 miles in 2.5 hours = Worn out left leg.

Heck, I even drove the last mile on shoulder's break-down lane since I was about 90 mintes late for an appointment.

But I suppose that's one of the few times I'd wished the Neon was an automatic. That, and the first week I delived newspapers.
 
Depends on how bad your clutch is. My first stock clutch was a piece of ****... every hour spent in traffic felt like purgatory. When I finally changed it out at 40,000 kms, it felt like butter... should've asked them to warranty that sucker... grrrrrr....

Some engines work particularly well with automatics. Some modern turbodiesels have such a short powerband that even at full chat, you're taking 3.5 to 4 shifts to get to 60 mph. While I'm a sucker for needless rowing, :D , automatics work perfectly for these cars.

But automatic response still leaves something to be desired. Even with fuzzy logic, an automatic can't always tell what "mood" you're in, and it's sometimes too jumpy when you want to cruise, and too relaxed when you want to burn rubber.
 
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