Predict the first no-stick model year.

There's nothing politically correct about not shifting, it's all about a cohort who can't learn how to drive.

...Was even one manual trans 575 imported into the US?

 

"The real question might be how many people would pay extra for a manual transmission when better performance is available from the F1/SMG/DSG cars."

Exactly! Isn't Ferrari supposed to be on the cutting edge of automotive technology? Then why would they stick with a gearbox type designed a century ago? Maybe they should have stuck with 70-series tires on 6 inch wheels as well - they're loads more fun to drive (and require MUCH greater driver input/skill) than something with fat, sticky tires!

BTW: Americans don't buy F1/SMG/DSG gearboxes because they're lazy, don't know how to shift, or because there's an automated mode (I've used my 'automated mode' once in 30,000 miles). They buy them because they're state-of-the-art and an absolute blast to drive. Try one guys, it might be a life-changing experience!

 

Right...

They all buy them because it's the fast way around Spa in a 575.

...Darn tootin'.

 

2003 with the Enzo and 2004 with the Challenge Stradale...

 

In years to come all the DSG/SMG/F1/whatever transmissions will be viewed as an automotive curiosity and everyone will drive a version of this:

http://www.zeroshift.com

Several cars on the grid in Bahrain will be using this type of gearbox.

Personally I'm not ready to give control of the clutch to a computer in my street cars. (Note that it's not necessary to do so with the above.) I won't give up my clutch pedal until the computer-controlled one comes with a lifetime warranty on clutch replacement. In 30 years of driving cars (and I drive them until they literally can't be repaired and have to be scrapped,) I have NEVER had to replace a clutch. Ever.

Until a computer can be as easy on a clutch as I am, I'll do it myself, thank you.

 

Never.

 

Which will those be?

 

Having a six speed 355 and a Maserati cambiocorsa coupe I can say that I deeply regret having bought the Maserati. The car is sexy to look at. Has a gorgeous interior. Is plenty fast, handles and stops like a true sports car. The transmission sucks. Around town the shifts are slow and clunky. The clutch action is slow. There is a lot of clutch slipping during shifts. The rpm goes up 2000-rpm between shifts. Has been back to the dealer and been told it is functioning normally. When driving aggressively the shifts are fast but brutal. Much more brutal than I would be in a similar circumstance. On top of that it just isn't as much fun to drive. It is like driving a video game. Any one can shift it fast.
Sometimes the technology may be the latest the fastest etc doesn't mean it is better

 

I'm interpreting this to mean the year where there are NO new F-cars offered with a stick. But it is possible that an outcry from die-hards brings about the reintroduction of the stick in subsequent years.

I think it'll be a lot closer than most people believe - Put me down for 2010. No stick shift F-cars offered.

Of course, the outcry after that will mean a reintroduction of limited run stick cars by 2012.

 

And when was the Otto cycle internal combustion engine designed? Would you rather have a hybrid-powered Ferrari because it represents the latest technology?

Gary

 

Still stunned by the industry's abandonment of the manual choke, can't yet face the loss of the manual transmission. The horror.

 

Last summer I took my 15 year old neighbor on a local Fcar rally. When we got to the destination, there was a 430 there, the first he had seen. When he looked in and saw the paddles he exclaimed "please tell me those are optional!". I quickly made him feel better when I told him my own stick shift 430 would arrive in about 6 weeks. Recently, I have seen letters to editors on C&D and Roundel by teenagers bemoaning the decline of stickshifts. Perhaps there is hope!

Dave

 

Some people seem to think that because its best for race cars it is best on the street. There are lots of high tech items on race cars that make them go very fast that are useless on the street. These include but are not limited to. Slick tires with very soft compounds. Fast but dangerous on the street. Extremely stiff suspensions. Great on the track but on the street your "fun" car will get beaten to death. Open exhausts fun for s short trip will destroy your hearing if you drive it for too long. Aerodynamic aids. How many think that huge wings on ricers are cool? Race cars have those too. Ceramic brakes are the hot ticket on the track on the street are they worth the $10,000 they cost when they don't last any longer? The list goes on.
The latest high tech gizmo may be very cool, but on the end it may just be that a gizmo.
If you want a high tech computer controlled transmission for a street car get a true automatic with manual controls. Word is that the 997 turbo with tiptronic (torque converter based) is faster than the manual. No clutch issues no clunky shifts. New tech not always better tech

 

(1) Be consoled that the stick that Maserati offers in the Spyder & Coupe is worse than the CambioCorsa. It compares to a 1950s pickup truck. [Indeed I suspect that the demise of sticks may come about simply because the ones being offered on new cars discourage buyers.]

(2) You didn't mention the year of your CC. I had a 2002 CC, and suffered all the annoyances you cite. Then I put a Tubi on the car. I did this for the sound, but to my pleasant surprise it also smoothed out the CC to butter. Maserati NA said this apparently has something to do with the reduced backpressure. So if you want to throw $3K at your car, you will definitely get glorious sound (the Tubi makes superb music on the CC) and may also see the transmission become actually pleasant to live with, instead of making your neck imitate a pigeon's every time the thing shifts.

(3) In the meantime, this trick: Doubleclick the thing into neutral whenever you see that you're coming to a full stop. That way your neck won't go jerkjerkjerkjerkjerk all the way down!

 

Delurking to agree. People seem to think that an F1 race environment is somehow more challenging or demanding than street driving.

It isn't. No way, no how. Building a track car is a trivial problem compared to building a truly-great street car. The "envelope" in street driving is much larger than it is in a race where skilled drivers spend 9/10ths of their time at 9/10ths.

Until they start putting stoplights on hills at Monaco, 20-mile-long traffic jams at Mugello, and a factory-authorized service facility every 100 miles along Interstate 5, F1 technology in its current state of development belongs in F1 and not on the street.

 

My CC is an 05. Even if the shifts were smoother it still wouldn't be as fun. I always put the car in neutral when coming to a stop. It would otherwise be unbearable.
I did drive an Audi A3 Quatro yesterday. It has an F1 style gearbox. Two clutches instead of one. This seems to work much better. The auto mode is smooth and the manual mode doesn't jerk or rev the RPM the way my CC does. I still prefer three pedals

 

It is coming. Only econoboxes will be offered with manual transmissions.


It will be a sad day.


Most Americans hate to shift. BesiDES, most buyers (old men) want an autobox. - They are not enthusiasts.

 

I think it's likely that manual transmissions will be phased out by emission regulations (but only accepted because the vast majority of the market would not fight it). As "drive by wire", more efficient electric motors and batteries, and electric hybrids (small, economical engine driving a generator and small battery pack with final drive handled by electirc motors (likely in each hub) prove to be both more fuel efficient and cleaner, the industry will likely be forced by regulation to move that direction.

It seems to me that even the majority of posters on this list are more motivated by raw performance than by the overall driving experience... I guess I'll always be driving vintage stuff....

Bill

 

Exactly... The Enzo and Challenge Stradale are Ferrari's first two teflon models... It's only a matter of time before the "bolt action" becomes an option you pay more for or until it's phased out altogether, which would, in turn, make those cars with sticks more valuable... F1 technology has come a long way...

 

Why would econoboxes be offered in manual? Car companies would love it if they only had to produce one kind of transmission, and I can see that happening in the future. Manuals will eventually only be available (I'm talking about America here, not necessarily Europe and other places that currently have a very high percentage of cars with manual transmissions) at extra cost on performance cars.