SaintNexus

This thought ran across my mind as I was driving home from work.

Car manufacturers are making more Automatics than Manuals. Even supercars these days are now Automatic (correct me if I'm wrong?)

Automatic car drivers probably out number Manual car drivers 1000 to 1, maybe even more!?

So, will it ever come to an end, or what?

syzygy

Ferrari has done away with the traditional manual transmission entirely.

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

After 25 years of being a manual snob, the IS F cured me of my arrogance. Manuals will die and it won't be a big loss at all. Except for the control freaks.

Big Andy

Depends on the country; eg. less than 5% of cars sold in Italy are automatics so in some markets manuals have some way to go before becoming obsolete. A man driving an ordinary auto would be regarded as a homosexual there (not that there's anything wrong with that of course! )

I do think that with the development of hybrids with CVTs and the new DSG style gearboxes a lot of the old objections to automatics in smaller cars (power sapping, fuel inefficient etc) will fall away.

caddyowner

I think manual transmission cars will remain, but only in sports cars in the developed world. We're already seeing small cars that have higher MPG ratings for the automatic versions v. manuals (e.g. Ford Fiesta).

Gojirra99

maybe drivers will one day be obsolete

mmarshall

Well, on the subject of control, IMO, you actually have more control with a paddle-shift or automanual-shift transmission than you do with a traditional three-pedal manual. Not only do you sometimes have more gears to choose from, but, especially with twin-clutch automanuals like the VW/Audi DSG/S-Tronic, you get almost instant response from the shifting input vs. the time it takes to push in an old-fashioned clutch, move the shift lever, and let the pedal out again. And, with the auto-manual shifting, there's no chance of a missed shift, leading to lugging or over-revving the engine by mistake. Some V8 Camaros and Mustangs also have the added annoyance, in their manual linkages, of the forced 1-4 Skip-Shift feature that, unless you are punching the gas all-out, by-passes 2nd and 3rd gears for better fuel economy and lower engine RPM on acceleration.

So, yes, manuals are on the way out for a reason...and not to mention the much greater convienence of automatics in heavy, stop-and-go traffic. Sygyzy has noted that Ferrari, one of the premier sports-car makers, has already dropped them altogether.

Luxotic

iTrader: (6)

they will be around in the sports car world but if sales are limited with regular cars I can see them being eliminated

mmarshall

Why? What good will they do even in sports cars? Today's automanuals, in many cases, not only outperform traditional manuals in both acceleration and mileage, but also are easier to drive in heavy stop-and-go traffic.

lexuskim

Hi, you mentioned you had a 530i BMW and after getting rid of it said you would never EVER own a BMW again. One of my long list of cars included a 530i and I couldn't get rid of it quick enough. What was your reason, inquiring minds want to know Incredible.

bnizzle87

the diehard generation of car enthusiasts will always want to pass down their manuals onto their offspring. i think, because of the exclusivity of manuals these days, there might be a good sized group who will want that driver-vehicle interaction. but as lobuxracer stated earlier, the IS F does a pretty fine job in an electronic form to keep that interaction as part of the driving experience.

IS-SV

A manual is sometimes nice for fun in a weekend car but that's about it.

Blackraven

You know, even in Europe (which is a stick-shift continent), there seems to be an increase in automatics, CVTs and DSGs. Whether the increase is small or big, all that matters is that there is an increase.

Factors of these mostly tie-in with these newer gearboxes being able to be mated with diesel engines (where in the past, only manuals can handle them)...

Better and more advanced gearboxes give even better fuel economy and lesser pollutants and emissions than stick shifts. The Honda Fit/Jazz as well as the Lexus IS are perfect examples for this (and are just some of the many examples to prove this).

Heck, Ferrari doesn't make stick shifts anymore. And a lot more sports car/performance cars are moving towards having ZERO manual option.

-------
anyways

For Lexus, right now, only the current IS has a stick shift option.............and even that is not available in all countries.

CTB727

I voted no simply because it's a sad truth. I don't want manuals to go, but the way auto makers are developing autos, CVTs, and DSGs, it's bound to happen either way. I love driving manual, but unfortunately the cars in my drive way are all auto. My next car will be manual though.

Can you explain this a little more? I've never heard of that feature, but it sounds frustrating.

97-SC300

iTrader: (17)

I think it's definitely a possibility....heck look at how the car world has changed and evolved over the last century. Everything is possible. Sooner or later people will be talking about how cars "used to have three pedals" and get a laugh about it.