Last post Thu, Mar 27 2008 8:54 AM by mthomson. 10 replies.
Does anyone know of a gas friendly auto with a steering wheel mounted gear shift? (not on the floor)
My '98 Caravan is on it's way out and I've been checking thru different makes/models on sites like Edmonds, Carmax, etc - but I can't find anything reasonable (under 15k) that isn't a low down gas guzzler or floor shifted. I'd love a little Fit or Scion, is it possible to get floor shifter car changed to a S/W shifter?
Thanks for reading!
I drive a Ford Taurus which is like this and I know some of the Mercury Sables are also. And some of the older GMs.
Conversations with rental companies suggest that there aren't very many cars with gear shifts on the stearing wheel anymore. Which is a problem for me since that's all I can drive. I live in fear my little 1999 Taurus doesn't make it. . .
The problem with those styles of colum shifter is that the linkage binds up after time, that is why most of them are going to the center console shifters. I know the newer (2004+) Pontiac Grand Prixs have paddle shifters on the steering wheel but I am not sure how much they control stock, but you could probably set something like that up on any electronic shifter car.
The problem with the center console shifter for me is that I need one hand to press the button and the other hand to pull the lever. I can't do both at once. And that leaves zero hands for the steering wheel since I was tragically born without a third arm. . .
Good to know about the Pontiac as I need to start exploring my future options. My Taurus is nearly 9 and I never had a problem with the mechanism and my family's Oldsmobile lived to 10 with 150,000 miles and also never ailed in the steering mechanism in any way.
What button are you talking about needing to push? I have a 2000 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP with a center console shifter, taking it out of park I need to press on the brake but that is the only time. I have mine set up with hand controls since I am a SCI in a wheelchair. Here is my car:
If you want I can take a pic of the inside to show you what I am talking about...
Every time I have tried to drive a car with a center gear shift there is a button on the side of the shift. You have to have the button held down to release the shift mechanism so that it will then move. This was the case in my dad's Toyota and my old boss' SUV and some other cars I looked at before I bought the Taurus.
I don't need any other sort of modification and have been able to drive 15-passenger vans and pick-up trucks even - so long as they shift on the stearing wheel because of these push button/pull lever mechanims. My legs work reasonably OK but I have trouble doing something with one hand in two directions at once like that.
If not all cars with the center gear shift have that button anymore I will go outside and jump for joy.
Go out and start jumping!
I have a button on the side of my shifter but it is for the performance shift, it makes it shift harder and at a higher RPM for better perfomance but it has nothing to do with taking it out of gear. Infact I can change gears with just a touch of my finger, the only bad part is somedays I put my wheelchair wheels in the front passenger side seat and they will tap it out of gear.
Guess my next car will be a pontiac.. . . you should see the trouble I have gotten into trying to rent a car with a gear shift on the steering wheel. THey say on the phone they can reserve it and then I arrive and they have no idea what I am talking about and bring me somehting with that darned push button. . .
I'll spare you the mental image of my jumping. . .
I drive a Chevy Venture...It has on the column shifting. I use hand controls to drive. If you consider a Venture make sure you check the top of the windshield where it mates to the roof...Rain water can penetrate and collect under the rugs....they run the electrical harnesses there and after a while the harnesses corrode out...major electrical issues then. After getting all that corrected...I have a great van.
Joe
PS...Chevy does have a 100,000 mile corrosion warrenty that dealers don't like to admit to....they finally did replace my whole roof
Most of the GM W-Body cars (Grand Prix, Impala, Monte Carlo, Regal, etc..) have the same shifters so you are not limited. I would just go down to a local dealrship and look through the used cars, find one you like then go back home and see if there is a cheaper on on the internet or in the paper. That is how I found out I did not like the newer mustangs, looked great on the internet but when I went to get in it, everything just felt wrong and not enough room for me and my chair.
My Miata had that configuration of a button on the side of the shifter to release it from park.
I changed the 'head' of the shifter stalk to one that required only a push down to release it from park.
I was going to outfit a Jeep Cherokee the same way, and after a little searching found that there are several companies that make a converted shifter handle that replaces the need for the button with a push down type of release mechanism.
mark
