Multiple arguments have been heard for and against electric vehicles since they first became common on the streets. Despite how much they are proving to be an idea our infrastructure and electrical network cannot accommodate on a nationwide scale, many are still pushing for them to be the norm with reckless abandon.
Toyota is now one of those companies.
With a bigger push to dominate the electric vehicle market, they want to dethrone EV companies like Tesla, Polestar, and Rivian. While each of these brands has had its issues with batteries, charging stations, and fires, they are still the top companies across the globe. Their latest ambitious idea is to mimic the feel of a manual transmission.
Complete with a clutch and gear shifter, the add-on will have a computer programmed to mimic the feeling of pressing down on a specific kind of car’s clutch and changing the gears. While this alone might be enough to get some holdouts, Toyota is going a step further. For those who make mistakes shifting gears, the car will buck and shimmy as a normal car would.
This kind of feeling is enough to remind someone to hit the proper shift points, and this would be fun too. Especially since they are programming it to not cause undue stress on the electric motors, thus preventing the damage that often comes with this kind of mistake. Rumors are also persisting that they will include the ability to downshift or use the manual transmission and friction to slow a vehicle down without the actual brakes.
Toyota’s patent on the idea was filed back in May, and it has people who have that need for a third pedal incredibly excited. While no word has been released about a rollback feature when moving from a stop up an uphill slant, that could be the cherry on top to help Toyota sucker people into vehicles that aren’t conducive to a majority of Americans or their lifestyle.
