-J-P-L-

Hahaha!

I voted they will always be around because of this popularity in other countries. If sales of manuals around the world were as low as America, manuals would have been gone altogether years ago. In Europe and elsewhere, however, manuals are the norm and automatics are for the lazy not interested in driving. Until this mentality changes, manuals will always be available - at least in those countries. Manufacturers may just choose to not offer them in the US, as is already the case with many models.

mclovintsx

I'm pretty sure it'll fade away sometime in the future....

<VENOM>

Considering how most manuals are the cheapest econoboxes, a friend of mine bought a Mazda 3, the manual Mazda3s on the lot had manual windows and no AC, the next model up had the auto trans, actually the more popular model that sells but they stock the stripped 3 cause it's cheap and just that cheap, the only other manuals on the lot were in the Mazda speed cars

The other cars I know of that are performance oriented are usually selectively ordered with manuals and generally sit longer before bought, and or are special ordered with a manual.

It just seems like the manual is on the way out, the auto has achieved better performance and fuel ratings

SLegacy99

I cannot respond to this poll because the two answer choices are responses for different questions. Will MTs become obselete and will they last are two different questions.

But not true in all cases. Prime example, the brand new Cruze Eco. With a 6MT it is rated for 42 MPG on the highway. With a 6AT it only recieves a 37 MPG rating. That is a wide gap.


My take on it is that is way more fun to drive a stick and since Subaru only offers their most powerful cars exclusively in a 6MT I will continue to buy em. This shiftable automatic crap is exactly that. When you try and change gears in the IS half of time it ignores you. And when you stop it switches to 4th gear. It is awful.

Och

iTrader: (3)

I know people that come here from yurope, and are happy like a pig in the dumpster when they get themselves an automatic car - something they couldn't do in yurope, for whatever reasons

mmarshall

It is true in enough cases, though, to make a difference. These days, when manuals get better EPA figures than automatics, it is usually either because of the final-drive ratio (with fuel economy in mind) or because the automaker opted not to spend the money to use a state-of-the-art automatic. Subaru, for example, still uses an archaic 4-speed automatic in the non-turbo Impreza and Forester.....so do some other automakers in entry-level cars (or even the big Buick Lucerne/Cadillac DTS).


The non-availability of an automatic or auto-manual in the 2010 and 2011 Legacy GT has been a surce of customer complaints, BTW....which is costing it some sales.


Perhaps it was not working properly. If you use the paddle-shifters or auto-manual lever, in most cars, it should revert to 1st at a full-stop. Then, as you start out, you shift up manually.

But make sure that you have the tranny in manual-shift mode first. Some units will allow the use of the paddles or bump-lever-shift even in full-auto mode, but they don't revert back to 1st at a full-stop....they assume you still want it in full-auto.

SNiiP3R

iTrader: (3)

I hope they'll stay..... As I see it, with manual you pretty much get a full control of the car. Auto = is only like 50% control, electronics is doing the rest for you. That is something I cant fully trust. Plus, auto is taking all the fun away from you. I mean, can you really make a hard right/left turn @ 60 mph? You'll probably end up dead lol. With manual transmission you can easily make that turn.

mmarshall

I guess it depends on how you define "fun". For instance, you certainly don't want a manual in this:



And, unfortunately, that's what more and more of our roads are becoming.

LIMS407

^^^
hahaha,,,look like damn LA traffic,,,

CDNROCKIES

All of the cars I drove in my exotics driving experience had paddles, including the brand new 458. You can handle the corners....and everything else....more safely and faster with the paddles than a manual. I don't even want to begin to think how much more difficult it would have been to drive them if I had to put the third pedal into play.

The "less engaging" argument is lame and typically spoken by people who perceive their driving skills to be better than they actually are. The new systems (ie. DCT/PDK/etc) are simply faster, easier to operate and safer. You NEVER miss a shift, grind your gears, bog your engine, over rev, etc.

No matter how great your skills are they will never be better than the new systems.

SaintNexus

My BMW was falling apart and I had no cash to fix it. The Service Engine, Check Oil, Traction, and 1 or 2 more lights (forgot what), was on. The windows on the right side weren't going down (motor died?), and the front passenger door was messed up on the hinge. The door was hanging down, closing it was hard, and it was going to cost a lot to fix it!

My 2002 530i was also at 130k miles when I sold it, and people have said that bmws begin to fall apart after 100k miles, and mines was starting to fall apart around 110-115k. I had to sell it, otherwise I was going to have thousands of dollars worth of services done to my car, which honestly just wasn't worth it.

BMWs look nice, but they're not reliable. If I get one, I would want it to be new, because used is a no-no. But, why get it new? A Fully Loaded 535i is over priced by $10-$15k than a fully loaded GS350. Plus, Lexus has better reliability, and maintenance won't be as expensive. Lexus!

ArodDaLob

iTrader: (14)

I daily drive my manual tC 400+ miles in socal traffic w/ an act clutch and fidanza lightweight flywheel. I would never dream of replacing it w/ an auto, and I actually find it easier to handle in rush hour traffic than my mom's rx400h which i sometimes have to drive when my parents need me to move isht.

sure, autos are faster nowadays and more practical (to most people), but I enjoy manuals way too much for me to give it up. I really do hope car makers keep making them, though.
in reality though, I don't see manuals sticking around for much longer, especially here in the US.. looks like I'll be doing a lot more tranny swaps down the line

KA8

iTrader: (1)

I will alway own a manual car. I've driven automanuals and they're annoying, most times it won't listen to you. Unless of course you go up in price of $50K+. Automanuals you find in sub 30K cars just isn't advanced enough for enthusiasts. Even my ML has shifters on steering wheels but there's too much delay when wanting to shift.

SLegacy99

I think that we're all missing an important point here. A lot of people don't know how to drive stick anymore...this means that your car is less likely to be stolen.

pbm317

I agree that manuals will continue. But more specifically about the IS. This is because Toyota's isn't really a shiftable automatic, theirs is more of a "max gear allowed" mode. Yes, in accelerating it can seem like a direct control, but it's really not. So when you stop, you're not in 4th gear, that's just the max gear it'll shift itself up to. I think it's the worst of the shiftable systems out on the market right now.