If you buy a new Corvette, the most low-tech component is probably the transmission. Most Corvettes come with a manual, which means that magical box of gears operates just like the one on the first Chevy, from 1911. However, that is exactly how most performance enthusiasts like it. Manual transmissions, they say, make driving more involving. No wonder car people are often called “gear heads.” Luckily for those gear heads, sales of cars equipped with stick shifts is on the rise.
According to USA Today, the proportion of cars sold with manual transmissions in the first quarter of 2012 is the highest since 2006. The take rate has been 6.5 percent, compared to 7.2 percent in 2006. In the intervening years, the number has dropped as low as 2.9 percent (in 2007).
Stick shift sales have been declining for a number of reasons. The most obvious is the inconvenience of having to use a clutch pedal and manually select each gear. That drove away all but the most miserly, or most enthusiastic, drivers. However, transmission technology has caught up with those fringe groups as well. Stick shifts used to be a cheaper option, but now automatics are a no-cost option on most cars, if a manual is offered at all. New automatics also return higher EPA fuel economy numbers.
The proliferation of “automated manual” transmissions eroded the manual’s popularity with car enthusiasts. These transmissions can shift themselves, but don’t have an automatic’s torque converter. That, and the fact that many of these transmissions have two clutches, means they can shift faster than a person, and offer better performance. Drivers can still shift for themselves with steering wheel-mounted paddles, just like a Formula 1 driver. That increased performance is why Ferrari no longer sells cars with manual transmissions.
Nonetheless, a manual renaissance seems to be occurring on the opposite end of the spectrum. Last year, Buick introduced its first stick shift in over 20 years. Ford is adding a manual transmission option to the Focus Titanium, due to customer demand. Crosstown rival Dodge expects 20 percent of 2013 Darts to be sold with manuals.
Why the sudden shift to self-shifting? Modern cars are peerless in terms of their safety, fuel efficiency, and safety, but they’re just not as much fun. New cars are full of electronic systems that separate the driver from the action of driving, so the whole experience can seem a bit artificial. In many new cars, the steering, brakes, and throttle have electronic assistance, so each control input goes through a computer. That makes the car drive more smoothly, but it also makes the experience more like a video game.
Video games are fun, but when we’re out in the real world, things should seem real. Perhaps people are looking for a bit more reality when they get behind the wheel, and aren’t bothered by having to use a third pedal to get it.
Most Corvettes DO NOT come with manual transmissions. If only a manual was offered, Corvette sales would be way too low to support production in Bowling Green. The automatics are a favorite for the retired AARP members buying the cars.
My dad just dumped his manual trans Mustang for an auto Vette. He is a former Ford SVT manager…and SVT cars ONLY come with manuals.
Note – I said SVT cars, not trucks.
While new automatics do show higher EPA numbers, they usually show lower real-world numbers. Real Fuelly or, better yet, Consumer Reports. http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/2012/01/save-gas-and-money-with-a-manual-transmission/index.htm
Manuals are more fuel efficient since you choose when you want to shift.
Duh because it’s much more fun to do it makes you feel one with your vehicle how bout making a stick shift that out performs previous manual transmissions
I will never own a car without a clutch. Just wont happen.
Yea I like being able to go to the gear I want. It’s safer in the rain as you can use the engine to brake in my eyes since that puts less strain on a slick tire. I have no antilock brakes so the manual is a must imo. I question the fuel economy part when the tranny gets stuck between 2 gears on a higway going up and down and up and well you get the point if it’s happened to you. Plus has anyone had a dead battery before??? Poping a clutch is not great fo the tranny or clutch but it will get you home, and the ability to bypass a gear if a gear goes bad… Stow that away for a rainy day.
In most cases, I’m all about the “real thing,” but when it comes to transmissions, I don’t see a reason for it at all.
Like the article mentioned, automatics offer all around better performance these days, so unless you’re buying a much older used car, then I wouldn’t bother.
Aesthetics in this case just do not outweigh the performance and savings benefits in newer cars, at least that’s how I see it.
It’s about the “feel” of the car not performance. It’s no different than Ford sticking with a live real axle instead of an independent rear suspension.
For many car enthusiasts, in real world situations, the performance difference between automatics and manuals is negligible. The manual transmission however is more engaging and “fun” to drive. The difference between an automatic and a manual version of a car is like night and day.
Both of you are wrong. It’s about the control of the car. You know better than the car or the computer whether you want to shift or not. It may be more “fun” to drive, but that is not why I would never own an automatic. I can control my car better than any computer ever could. Paddle shifters are just as bad. They are just fancy automatics with shift-tronic.
As for flat out automatics, I don’t want to have to push my foot down and then let the car shift. I want to shift and then put my foot down. I can be an aggressive driver. Highway, Snow, and off road. You give me an automatic, and I’ll stare blankly at it and as where the real car is.
I’d use the word defensive driver as in to avoid the people that are distanced from the real thing paying attention to everything else but the road. But well put either way.
Well, when I used the term “Aggressive”, I suppose defensive should have been implied. It’s funny, paying attention to the other drivers on my 20 mile drive to work, and seeing how many people are not paying attention. But I digress.
good point.