Enough with the Flappy-Paddles only

Enough with the "Flappy-paddle only" offerings on modern F-cars, give us a 3-pedal option. I can't bring myself to go after another modern F-car, the driving is just not involved enough (I don't track).
Who's with me?

(sorry if a similar thread has already addressed this, but I didn't come across any when "searching" for the brief moment I spent)

 

It would be interesting to see the % of buyers that would purchase 3 pedals if offered.
Especially if the manual was a 7 speed.

 

Count me in.

 

A gated 7 speed with a lockout reverse.

 

Have any of you driven a later model 430 or 458? I'm a 3 pedal guy all the way, but these new gearboxes are quite somthing to experience. I honestly can't see getting the performance out of these new cars with a manual shift gearbox.

They are now an entire system that controls engine, trans and diff. It's really quite mind blowing the first time you get behined the wheel. A little boring sometimes, but when the pedal hits the carpet, it all comes together.

 

Haven't driven a DCT equipped car yet, but I wouldn't trade my F1 equipped car for a true manual. It's a work of art and really makes the car complete IMO.

However I would take a manual in a F355/360.

 

Yep. Have driven the 458 and am going to move my F430 on its way soon. Don't get me wrong, the technology is incredible, etc., but on the road and back roads, it just gets kind of boring. I started looking at Ford GTs and F430 manuals (hard to find in a spider, and you pay a premium). I currently get the most INVOLVED and rewarding driving experiences with my 356 speedster, austin healey, and XKE. I am no Alonso and don't do track driving currently (am looking into Formula Ford vintage racing at the moment), so the F1 transmission doesn't amount to much for me personally except to decrease driver involvement.

 

Agree. Three pedals IMHO will always be more fun. But looking at it from the perspective of newer and overall performance capabilities, you can't touch these new systems with a 3 pedal car.

They can be boring for sure. That I cannot dispute. In fact I hate that they even offer an "auto" mode. That should not be allowed at all.

 

it's NOT the doing of the manufacturers, rather it's "us", the consumers... apparently there is not enough demand for a manufacturer to recover the costs associated with maintaining availability of manual transmissions...a manufacturer needs to order basic quantities of the manual trans to get best pricing... some brands are overstocked with the manual trans... "we" are not buying them, to the point it makes no sense to offer them

 

Interesting thread - check out the Aussie thread (pretty current under 'miscellaneous car news" thread) where I've been lamenting nanny-aids in current cars and get flamed by some... I'm not interested in speed per se, so old fashioned carbs and gearbox is what makes me happy.

 

Walter Rohrl recently tested the new Cayman and recorded blistering lap times as would be expected. When asked how he did it and how he liked PDK (arguably the best duel clutch flappy paddle), he replied that he found that his best lap times were achieved when he left it in AUTOMATIC. The computers are smarter than we are .... John Conner (insert your best Arnold Schwarzenegger quotation and impression here)

To reiterate, my own preference is for driving experience, not track time. In fact, I prescribe to: "It's lot more fun to drive a slow car fast, than a fast car slow"

 

exactly. look at the numbers.
the 612 was offered with a manual, and something like 120 were sold.
the 599 was offered with a manual, and reportedly they sold 59 of them.
the cali was offered with a manual, and they sold 7......

no more offering manuals.....

 

Well, don't you imagine that all us (me at least) screaming for a new Ferrari with manual transmission are in a position to instantly buy one, but only after we hit the big Lotto ............. two weeks in a row?

Obviously the people who actually buy these cars don't prefer a manual transmission and by the time a 2014 Ferrari gets old enough for me to afford, I'll be dead. I'm sticking with my 360 three pedal.

 

This thread is only going one way. Flappy paddle fan boys listing why it's superior (and inevitably going on about carburators, ABS, crank starting your car and such utterly pointless counter arguments), and manual fanboys (like me) arguing that we just want the option.

I understand why Ferrari got rid, it's just a shame is all.

Have to say, in some cars the flappy paddles just suits it more. I think I'd struggle to tick the option for manual gearbox in an F12 or LaF where it available.

 

I like both. I miss my Maserati Cambiocorsa but would not trade the gated 575 for an F1.

 

Hands down - OFFER A 3 PEDAL OPTION! Just watch the 3 pedal late model cars start to bring a large premium over paddle cars in the years to come.

 

Time to move on - paddles are it now. I recall when a digital dash was too dramatic and prompted GM to retreat back to analog in the Allante and Corvette.

Technology moves on and even though we like 3 pedals (I have both and I'm indifferent), people need to adapt. GPS, power steering, ABS, I hear the same complaint from some dinosaurs that they detract from the "true" driving experience (whatever that is...).

Do your own informal survey and you'll find most people under 30 (even car enthusiasts) cannot drive a 3 pedal car.

 

Never in my life would I have thought I'd want flappy paddles. My first experience with it was in a loaner A3 when my RS4 was in for service. It was incredibly boring and went into auto mode after the novelty wore off (about 5 mins). That said, I absolutely love the SF2 F1 in my Scud. If the Scud were available in manual, I would still choose the F1. I guess the overall excitement of driving a Ferrari makes up for it. I love hearing those perfect throttle blips on downshifting.

 

Not if you live in Italy. Here you get a special restricted license if you can't drive a manual car, and nobody wants that. Automatics are not unheard of, of course, but they are quite rare and are usually more difficult to sell.

 

Fixed that for you.

In most of Europe, if you do your driving test with an automatic you are not allowed to drive a manual car. Almost everyone (I would bet 95% at least) learn to drive in a manual.

 

That would depend upon the country in which you conduct the survey. In the UK, most people drive 3-pedal cars. My wife has a SmartCar with paddles and the lack of a clutch is an anomaly amongst our friends, though she can and does drive 3 pedals at work.

All the best,
Andrew.

 

Here is where the buck stops with me. I will consider buying an automatic for a DD (although I haven't owned an automatic in over a decade), but NEVER for a fun weekender.

Do not care about gaining 0.5 seconds per lap, do not want the extra maintenance and shortened clutch life.

Agree that the lazy, inattentive drivers of today are to blame rather than the auto companies. Already telling my 14 year old daughter that her first car will be a manual, to impress on her that paying attention is important. This isn't a video game, its life and death out there.

 

It is the car magazines'fault. They make a big deal out of horsepower, 0-60, 1/4 mile, top speed and lap times. If there was a fun dyno it would be all different.

 

They very often mention that the lighter cars with adequate hp are far more fun to drive in the real world, than heavy cars with hyper acceleration, but no one listens. If we did, we would hail the Cayman R's and Lotus Exige's.

 

Nope, it's the consumers fault. Ferrari don't build cars for the 2nd or 3rd 'enthusiast' owner, they build them for the first owner and they DO NOT WANT MANUALS. Period. You can lament and complain all you want, but if you're not in a position to order a brand new ferrari, it will fall on deaf ears and rightfully so. Buy one of the tens of thousands of used manual Ferraris. That's what I did.