CGX car nut:
RC:
nberry:
Wasn't the reason for so many manual in European cars in the past because the cost of fuel? At that time it was more economical to run a car using a manual. Today I don't believe that is the case.
Yes. Automatic transmissions always had the reputation of eating too much fuel and not being sporty. I guess everyone knows by now that things have changed a lot compared to the old auto trannies back in the days.
Actually, I know many drivers who went for manual on regular cars because of option cost for the auto tranny, not because of fuel consumption or not being sporty enough. Times have changed but money is still an issue.
In the US, many drivers carry a lot of pride in driving stick because not everybody can do that but in Europe, every idiot can drive stick, so driving manual is a preference but not really something someone would be proud of.
In my opinion, driving manual has become a personal preference, like choosing a certain rim design or a leather color. The car needs to be fun and if some people think it is fun by driving stick, so be it. I have no problem with that.
Unfortunately car manufacturers have to look out for their typical customers and truth is, most sports cars aren't available with manual anymore. Why choose manual if you can actually have the best from both worlds (manual and auto in one transmission)?
Still: There are rumors that Porsche could offer an optional manual gearbox for the next 991 GT3 RS, apparently they are currently assessing the feedback from the 991 GT3 PDK presentation.
One tends to look at potential future scenarios and outcomes. I've posted before that much of the move away from manuals, besides capturing the emerging video game/F1 wannabe set, is because of more stringent regulations for emissions, and correspondingly, fuel economy standards. These, of course, have the potential for unintended consequences in the future, and down-the-road.
The integration of systems, as someone mentioned earlier, can lead to very compromised, in the spectrum of performance cars, vehicles as already witnessed with the Nissan GT-R in its home market. The GT-R, for the uninitiated, has a speed limiter set according to car's location, as determined by the GPS system. Now consider the current political move to eliminate the unlimited sections of the autobahn. It's quite conceivable that within a few years, the top speed, in most circumstances, will be governed, and dictated, by law and software control. Once this happens, there is less perceived need for higher performance vehicles...
For the skeptics, recall that the French auto industry produced some of the most desirable luxury cars, pre-World War II. After the war, the government regulated the auto industry to limit production of luxury automobiles. Look where the French automakers are today.
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A side note to the GT3 subject.
The French auto industry produced the most desirable luxury cars since the inception of the automobile until the 1950’s.
But they were “specialists”, crafting tailor-made cars for what would be now the very rich (look how much Ferrari charged Eric Clapton recently). After WWII, Europe being in ruins, these craftsmen declined and disappeared along with the entire segment they were addressing.
However, the mass-production of vehicles developed.
Unfortunately, the French auto industry was plagued by communists: Renault, the biggest player at the time if I am not wrong, was nationalized and run directly by the government – in fact communist-led unions. Officially, Renault was nationalized as a “punishment” for its founder’s collaboration with the Nazis during WWII. Besides the historical argument (whether or not he collaborated), which is debated by specialists, it is interesting to note that the taking by the government was probably illegal as the founder was dead at the time of the taking (beaten and left dead during imprisonment in Paris – absent a court decision -- while he had a severe medical condition) and as no proper compensation was paid to the Renault family. If the heirs manage to get the best lawyers around, they have a shot at claiming the company back!
At about the same time, the industry was also hurt by the loss of its genious, Andre Citroen. For perspective and on a much smaller scale, try and imagine what Porsche would have been without Porsche.
Current French situation? I would say 50% incompetent management and 50% crappy politicians who have consistently been “anti-auto” for the last decades. For example, German Porsche sales are to companies. In France, registration of a 991 GT3, for example, would cost about 2,000 euros in registration taxes, plus a 6,000 euro CO2-based surtax, plus the annual tax on companies owning vehicles in the region of 8,000 euros. Also, VAT is not deductible on cars. Therefore, during the year of purchase of the car, the company would pay about 41kE in taxes (assuming a purchase price of 150kE VAT included). Not good!
I forgot to mention that the French government is very generous and allows for a tax-deductible annual depreciation on the car. You would guess that the depreciation is based on the purchase price … but you would be wrong. The basis is capped to about 9,000 euros, meaning an annual tax-deductible allowance of about 1.8k euros, i.e., 1.2% of the purchase price! Since you depreciate the car over five years, that mean a total tax-deduction of 6%!
Depressing but true.