Are Europeans killing the manual transmission?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Those damn Europeans. Not only are the Continent’s free-spending politicians killing what little economic recovery we cost-conscious Canadians had going, it looks like new car buyers over there are eschewing cars with clutch pedals.

In a wayward report through various Interweb sites, the speculation is that when Audi launches its facelifted S4 and S5 models in Europe next year, there’ll be no stick-shift option.

 

Now don’t panic. The German automaker will keep offering a six-speed manual for the S4 and S5 models in Canada. But whether or not this speculation is true is beside the point. The bigger question is: Is this just another step towards the demise of the manual transmission as we know it?

 

Anyway… beyond Audi, also know that Mercedes-Benz’s high-performance AMG branded cars now come exclusively with automated gearboxes, as do many BMW M  vehicles, Ferrari no longer offers Brits the choice of a manual transmission in its supercars, while less than 1 per cent of Lamborghinis are purchased with stick. And let’s not forget the influence of Formula 1 racing, which, I believe, last saw a manual gearbox used in the short-lived Forti team’s racecars in the mid-1990s.

 

Other factors that don't support shifting gears via a cluth pedal? How about stop-and-go traffic, faster-shifting dual-clutch technology, and the ability to offer either fuel-efficient-for-the-EPA or more aggressive-for-drivers shift profiles are making automatic gearboxes the go-to option for the vast majority of new car buyers.

 

Oh yeah. All that and a new generation of buyers who were never taught to use a stick by the their parents.

 

Shiftless Euroweeniies and lackadaisical parenting skills aside, do you still see a need for automakers to offer manual transmissions?

 

Or are clutch pedals archaic as roll-up windows?

 

Sources: Autoblog via GTSpirit, CAR

 

 

Comments

[RP]

The manual is probably dead. It will be cheaper just to put autoboxes in all the cars instead of offering a choice. Not enough people are learning how to drive manuals anymore either.

My first car had a manual, and I didn't even know how to drive it when I bought it.

How times have changed.

[John Frewen-Lord]

I live in Britain, and have a Citroen C5 with 6 speed auto (with a 2.3 L twin turbo diesel). Veeerrrry smooth. I never know what gear it's in, the changes are completely imperceptible. It has sport mode, which not only moves the change points higher up the rev scale, but initiates much earlier downshifts during aggressive driving, as well as kicking in the turbos earlier (and boy does the car really shove you back into the seat then). It has grade logic (knows when you're going downhill and need a lower gear), and finally has a tiptronic style should I ever wish to change gear by myself (and occasionally, I do, but not often).

I cannot think of a single reason why I would go back to a manual shift on this car.

[Toro]

I had to look all over to find a 5 Series BMW with a stick but it was worth it. Sorry folks it ain't about how fast you make your shift it is about when you shift and nothing compares to a finely executed downshift into a corner, a blip on the gas to bring up the revs for a properly executed double clutch - pure driving and a wonderful dance of machine and man. You don't get that from an stalk-mounted paddles.
Unfortunately few want to take the time to learn and as a consequence most are missing a huge source of driving pleasure.

Till they disappear all togehter I for one will continue to avoid those so-called sport cars that only come with an autobox.

[DJL]

Europeans aren't killing the manual transmission, technological progress is killing it. If anything it's the euro market that has been keeping the manual transmission on artificial life support.

It used to be there were two solid reasons for ordering a car with a manual, it was cheaper (both to purchase and operate), and manuals provided better performance, especially with small engines. But technology has made it possible to build automatics that are just as cheap to buy, cheaper to operate, and provide far better performance than a traditional manual.

It's not that kids these days don't know how to drive a stick (although it's true that most don't), it's that they just don't see the point. They have no romantic attachment to the 'good old days' when a sports car couldn't truly be considered a sports car if it didn't have a stick shift. They look at how much faster a Porsche with PDK and launch control gets off the line than one with a manual transmission and they think to themselves 'Why would I want something that's old and slow?'

Don't get me wrong, there are still some absolutely lousy automatic transmissions available on the market today. But seriously, if the car you're looking to buy is made by a builder who can't even build a decent automatic transmission, what makes you think that the rest of the car won't suck just as badly.

[Danny]

I can not tell if you are making fun of Europeans, trying to be funny, are just making a joke, that someone may take too seriously. There is no evidence what so ever that Europeans are killing the stick - if anything at all, it is the north American markets that find it to be "inefficient". Very disappointing article Mr. LeBlanc

[Dantheman]

?? I'm fairly certain that the great majority of cars sold in European markets are equipped with standard transmissions; it's just that in higher end models (BMWs, Audis, etc.) buyers are increasingly choosing automatics or DSGs.

[Haakon Hamnes]

Are the stick shifts dying! Nope 99 percent of europeans drive stick shift. Real men drive manual!