+ a million. There was no "Green Toyota" before the green nutjobs started to grab government balls under a decade ago.
Three words for you: bias, ply, tires. Why do manual advocates just not understand how much more involved you can be with actually driving the car when you don't have to fuss about with a third pedal and an extra lever? It's not that the gearbox itself is faster. It's that the driver can be more involved with the dynamics of a car that is on a completely different level of capability than its manual ancestors. It's that modern cars (see: any new Ferrari) can be designed from day one to be that much more involving to drive because they know the driver will be concerned with the handling of the car and not the handling of his feet.
Three things: 1)The analogies to old tire technology and carbs are completely without merit. Does the process by which fuel is injected into the combustion chamber have any impact on ones enjoyment or "involvement" driving the car? There could be six trained monkeys under the decklid of a 911 squirting fuel into the cylinders & if they were just as efficient as DFI, Varioram or whatever, it would have no effect on how you drive the car. Manual vs. flappy paddle most certainly does alter the driving experience. Whether you prefer one over the other is obviously subjective...but you're wrong if you think paddle shifters are better 2) I think the new high-line sportscar marketplace is getting way out of hand in that the offerings have become nothing more than overpowered technical exercises. As such, the abundance of electronic whiz-bang gizmos, magnetic suspensions, e-diff, various fuel maps, etc, are necessary evils to harness the massive horsepower modern cars crank out. All of this needless hp doesn't make for a better driving experience in a road car if it means the inclusion of driver aids. And big hp w/o traction control is far too dangerous for the overwhelming majority of drivers. IMO, the sweet spot in modern sportscars was the mid-late 90's with the 993/355/Esprit. They had more than enough power to exceed your fun factor on any public road while still having a manual gearbox & a minimum of nanny stuff. All things being equal, I'd have a 355 over a 458. 3) The manufacturers are missing the point of consumer sportscars by trying to make a race car for the street. Its completely unnecessary. Who cares if their PDK 911 shifts in 2 milliseconds, laps the Ring 20 seconds faster the manual gearbox or is .3 seconds quicker to 60 mph? I'm all for throwing every bit of available technology at track cars as their purpose is to go as fast possible...but that's not the point of consumer sportscar. You will never convince that flicking my fingers is as much fun as manually matching revs approaching a series of corners while carving up the LA/Malibu canyons. A pure sportscar should always require the skill of a heel-toe downshift and throttle control...ESPECIALLY in a 911. Remove those things and you've removed an integral aspect of sport driving. You will also never convince me that my ex 430 F1 is more fun than my Boxster Spyder with its three antiquated pedals. Its not even a fair fight.
here's the funny thing: I agree 100% with points 2 and 3, but I still would rather have a PDK/DSG with a paddle shift. I've owned ~20 cars in my life, pretty evenly split between automatics (generally SUVs, with a sedan or two thrown in) and manuals (generally sports cars/GTs). I've had one DSG-equipped VW, which was a total pile of crap, except for that gearbox. what a gem! to me the involvement with a car is far more about steering, brakes, handling, and power than it is about gearchanges; so efficient precision every time is better to me than being slightly more involved...but then having to make 249 gearchanges on the 3 mile commute from home to office in west LA.
You see...I don't see driving with a manual an extra fuss (nor do many others). It's like wiping your ass after you've done a number 2. It's something completely natural and do it without thinking. I'm all for having both gearboxes available, it's a shame that money talks in this case. Nail > head on all 3 pts.
Fair point, but to me the downshift is every bit as important as the other inputs you mentioned. In fact, without a proper downshift the the entire apple cart is upset - the balance is disturbed which alters the braking, steering and throttle input. A bad downshift in a 911 can be serious problem at speed. (You're from LA and probably know this road), imagine getting the downshifts all wrong while plunging down Decker Rd at the final hairpin complex into Malibu (as well as further up Decker, for that matter). Death is a real possibility if go over the cliff. IMO, you're removing the first part of the equation in sport driving. I'll make one more analogy which I think is on the money, especially if you play golf. I played Big Ten golf and worked as an assistant PGA professional for two years after college in the early 90's. Back then we used a balata ball and persimmon drivers (or crude metal drivers at that point) & a 7,000 yard course was a monster. It took a tremendous amount of skill to drive the ball long and straight as the sweet spot on the driver was the size of a marble. A pure strike might fly the ball 250-260 yards. If you tried to swing too hard & didn't flush it, you'd easily lose 30 yards of carry & the ball could curve 50 yards offline because it spun so much. If you didn't have the skill the drive the ball straight you had no chance. In today's game with a hot ball that doesn't curve nearly as much as balata, driver heads more than twice the size of a persimmon head, adjustable face angles, longer high-tech shafts that are custom fitted to your swing speed, spin rate, launch angle, etc, the skill of driving the ball in tournament golf has been all but eliminated. Now the guys swing out of their A SS & as long as contact is made anywhere near the middle of the face the ball flies 290+ yards all day long leaving a flick into the green no matter where it ends up. Is the game better because of technology? Hell no. Are the top players better today than 40-50 years ago? Hell no. All that has happened is that iconic old courses are rendered defenseless by technology, not by the skill of the player. Its the same with the elimination of the manual gearbox. An essential skill of the driver is being replaced by technology when it doesn't need to be. Just as the hot balls & crazy drivers are great for the recreational player who sucks no matter what equipment they have, the PDK is great for commuting and the race track. But for the good player there is nothing like shaping a shot with balata & persimmon and for the traditional 911 enthusiast there is nothing like knocking it down three gears via heel-toe & balancing the car through the corner with the throttle.
I understand what this analogy is supposed to show, but coming from a local music background, many artists are increasingly releasing their music on vinyl as it makes the music more of an experience. Although these sales are not the bread and butter of the music industry, there is still a niche market that enjoys the experience and sound of vinyl. Similarly, with the Manual vs. Paddle debate, there is obviously a niche market of enthusiasts who will always enjoy the 3-Pedal cars, especially in sports cars. I see manufacturers in the future going back to making more true manual cars for those who love having the driving experience that involves all four limbs.
I lol'd at the RS 4.0 comment the two most fun cars I've driven in the last 5 years were a '72 Dino and my Lotus Elise...which combined don't have 400 horsepower. of course combined they barely weigh 2 tons as well...
Great Photo and after being in LA last weekend with the traffic, I don't think I could live with my Manual 997 there.
it kinda takes all the fun out of having a sports car, doesn't it? a shame since the weather is perfect for having a sports car 360 days a year.
I'm pretty sure the Porsche gt3 will have the manual option they are into selling loads of cars and also meeting demands unlike Ferrari. Also they just built a 7 speed manual for the 991 can't not see them not giving the option on the gt3 or rs there not dumb. Porsche also knows that there is still a demand for manuals they proved it with the 4.0 rs. My 2 cents
I agree with this completely, but there is a point to the car. I drive one ~60 miles everyday and the fuel economy is fantastic. I could give a rats ass about being green, the car really isn't but until we start getting the tiny fuel sipping engines they have in europe there is no better option. I believe theres around 90k on ours and besides one set of new tires and oil changes nothing has been needed on it and it still feels brand new. To get back on topic it's interesting the shift towards the f1 style gearboxes. I remember a few years ago they were still pretty uniformly hated and now people are really starting to come around. I think it's mainly thanks to the dual clutch systems that are now getting popular. I have a friend who is in the lucky position to get to test drive basically every new exotic that comes out and he said he prefers a manual over the paddles, unless it's the dual clutch which blows away the manual. I'm in about the same position as Ashwin, grew up with automatics in my family and everyone I know who has a manual has it in a Ferrari or Lambo so I've never really learned or had the chance to drive one.
