What has a stick shift these days?

And you can't get drum brakes, either.

Remember 1999?

In 1988, the only WRC car not available in the US was ... the Ford. (Euroford Sierra RS)

In 1999, *NONE* of them were available in the US.
Yes, there was an "Impreza", but it had no turbo and was almost half a ton heavy, compared to other markets.
The M3 in the US was 80 BHP shy of the Euro model.
The Celica GT-Four went out of production, and the Mitsu GT-3000 stopped coming to the US.
The A4 had a 2.8 liter, but a lot of body roll, too. (The S4 wasn't available yet.)
Also, in '99, there was a huge waiting list for a 360. And the dot-coms had collapsed.

So, instead of a new car, I bought a used 328.



Not being able to get a stick in the top end Porker turbo seems a little pale, by comparison.

It's not surprising that Porsche puts a sequential box in their top "performance" model.
On the track, shifting your own may be "fun", but not as fun as winning.


But if you're unhappy now, wait a bit.
The reason I'm buying an EVO X now is because the XI is supposed to be a ... diesel hybrid. (Akk, gak, pfft.)

Cars are now being built to be politically correct, rather than fun.

But you can still get a "stick" in modern cars: A USB memory stick.

 

I have a Mini cooper S works. It has a stick. But I think most today are automatics.

 

It's amazing. I'm a three pedal guy... But being able to drive a lot of different cars everyday has really changed my view of paddle shift cars. They are quite amazing. They just work so well. The Porsche system is simply amazing, BMW with the smg is really good all done in a tight little package, Ferrari beginning with the 430 really came together.

With many of these performance cars considering there capabilities I don't think I would have it any other way. The only downside is the cost when somthing goes wrong. Big money no matter who makes the car.

I just did an smg pump and acutator assembly and clutch on a BMW m5 bill was close to 12k... Ouch

 

A repli-race car like a GT3 should have PDK, but a street car such as a Turbo, should at least be offered with a three pedals for those who drive for fun rather than lap times and ETs.

 

By the same "I don't care about a couple 1/10 of a second" argument, the GT3 should also have a stick option....which I could get behind and buy. They can keep the automatics for the lazy distracted drivers and old men.

 

Thanks for insulting 80% of the people on Fchat.

 

On that note sir you could also be held accountable by inferring that 80% of the Fchat members are "lazy distracted drivers and old men"! Yet like you I would not have used those particular words simply because "too each their own".

Just saying.

 

I bought one of those when they first came out. The only thing I didn't like was the that on initial take off, it seemed to slip the clutch like the older Ferrari F1 systems. I traded it in for a new GTR. I don't know how the newer ones are as I haven't driven one since then. I also noticed pretty poor gas mileage. It seemed to average about 20 mpg in typical driving which seemed poor for a 2 liter 4 cylinder especially given that the GTR gets about the same mileage with a 3.8 liter V6 in a somewhat heavier car.

Back on topic:

My Aston Martin Vantage convertible is a 6 speed stick.

 

That's a lot of car with a third pedal. Another one I thought of is the Caddy CTS-V. A vette engine shoehorned into your mom's car. I'm not a pushrod V8 fan but they are damn reliable. I've heard good examples of the sticks are hard to find.

 

Truth hurths huh?

 

If you're talking about the white one, it's PDK. 997 Turbo S was not offered with manual gearbox.

 

Now isn't that the crux of the issue? That kind of statement should insult ZERO true driving enthusiasts.

 

No... he's inferring that only old men and lazy people like non-stick cars. That's pretty darn insulting to the thousands here who have F1 box and DCT's on their F cars and other makes.

Oh... so you have an F1 F430. Well, we leave those for the old men and lazy types.

 

Ridiculous. So, ONLY a "true enthusiast" would select a manual over a DCT or F1?

Please... did a bigger hole while you're at it.

 

Yes, that is correct. Lazy drivers and people with mobility issues would select automatics. If I had no left leg, why would I want a manual transmission? Duh...

And why would I have an interest in digging a hole?

The Vegas heat must play hell with reasoning skills.

 

If at the time I bought my Z06 they had a paddle shift I would bought it.

I LOVE the full manual but, F1 or DCT is just the naturally modern way to go.

Find the manual transmission car that you LOVE and hang onto it. I think the 355 stick is a great old nostalgic ride with lots of power to throw around as your old roadster.
Stick is great but it's time has been and going...going...g

 

Wow. Heading to China the shortest way are we?

 

No, I'm not going to China at this time. If I do decide to go in the future, yes I'll consult the airline schedules to select the shortest route.

 

You know, the only people who truly AREN'T real enthusiasts are the pig headed types who can't accept anything new and like blame and criticize the rest of the world as it moves forward.

Then again, I suppose some people still like starting a barbeque rubbing two sticks together instead of using a match.

"Real men don't use lighter fluid".

I just ordered a new Vette Convertible WITH a manual. I also loved the F1 box in my F430 and the DCT in my 458.

THAT is what an enthusiast does -- understands the differences and needs of different machines to get the most out of them.

Having what looks like a man's sex organ sticking out of the console that you can wrestle around with or not does not make you an enthusiast. What makes you an enthusiast is appreciating the machine and what it does to you and for you.

And I assure you I am no "old man" or "lazy type" to appreciate and order a non-manual car.

 

That's about it.

Electric cars far out perform gas cars. Wait until that battle starts between the Die hards and the early adapters.

 

I agree -- you need to live with them to appreciate how much better the concept really is.

Anyone judging based on the 355 or 360 systems, or early BMW SMG, doesn't know. The Audi DSG and Porsche PDK showed the way, and Ferrari is fully caught up with the DCT technology at this point.

I don't see the old three-pedal design surviving in high end performance cars, but probably a bit longer in the Mazda Miata and cars where performance is secondary.

+1

The torque curve isn't even a curve... I think the transmission debate will be irrelevant in the next decade or so. If you want to keep up, you need a motor, not an engine.

 

Wait, electric cars with no transmissions? What in the world would we argue about then, lol!

 

It's heading that way, like it or not. I may have to wonder what this will do to collector car values. Will the old gas guzzlers even be wanted in the coming years? Just look at a tesla..amazing machine with a full iPad like center console already on the market. Makes me think the older cars will be left to rot on people's garages who over paid for them.

 

I haven't owned a slush box since the Nixon administration.

I'm not buying one now. The sequential twin clutch gearbox is a manual transmission with computer operated clutches.
Shifts become a matter of shifting from the even clutch to the odd one.

I've experienced how much of the VIII's 0-60 time is spent shifting.
The X is a lot heavier .... and half a second faster to 60.

What about ABS? Is that also a crutch for lazy old people?
Are we whining that we can't get cars without ABS anymore?

I hated ABS when it came out, a quarter century ago. But now they've worked many of the bugs out of it.

Similarly, we're now a few generations into sequential gearboxes, and they've improved, too.


For all the people h8ing on paddle shifters: Have you driven one?
Not just once in "auto" mode, but having run the shift commands?

In a stick, you shift by operating the clutch while moving a stick through a pattern.
In a sequential box, you shift by pulling the paddle or moving the stick forward or back.

Either way, *you* are telling the car to shift.
The only difference is the interface.

I know people who complain that computers now have mice, instead of those toggle switches on the front.

 

I didn't like the F1 transmissions because they were clunky and slipped the clutch a whole lot more than I would do with a 3 pedal, especially in reverse. But the DCT is brilliant. I appreciate it as much as I do 3 pedal cars. Each offers a different yet satisfying driving experience.