"Uncooked Truth: A Sad State of Manual Transmission Affairs"
(21 August 2013)
The manual transmission is becoming less and less available on cars that are more fun than ever to drive. This puts Josh in a predicament like nothing else being such a manual fan, hence the Uncooked Truth about to be said.
Here at RawAutos we take pride in knowing that the manual transmission is the greatest way to drive any car. Whether you like it or not, speed was founded on the principles of having a manual gearbox. That overall connection between you and the machine; visceral in every way.
Sad, then, these days with double-clutch and fast shifting ZF automatic gearboxes. Don’t get me wrong, I love a car, period, with anything in it. Everything engineering fascinates me, as it should any car guy or gal. But I do not like that I can’t option a manual as much anymore. And that really, really infuriates me deep down in my bones. I get a chilling anger and despise towards any car company that basically laughs at me, the manual driver, because I want to swap cogs myself.
“It’s slower.” “It’s not as efficient.” “It’s not cool to do it yourself anymore.”
Well you know what, Hans Gruber, it’s very cool for me to push in a clutch with my left foot while simultaneously moving a gear stick into another gear. If I’m pulling it into a lower gear, I’ll happily heel-toe myself without a computer showing me how inferior I am at it.
Computers are great things, and damnit do I love ‘em. From Google to Facebook, and iMDB, all the way over to this web-’zine where I wrote my first article on October 1, 2007. It’s been nearly 6 years, and my have these interwebz grown since then. I remember the days when YouTube didn’t have resolution above 480p. And I even recall when Jalopnik and Autoblog were still in their infancy and trying to make an important splash.
But I’ll be damned if I’m going to let Porsche, BMW, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Jaguar, Aston Martin, Mercedes-Benz, etc. bully me into choosing what they have to offer just because there are only 45 people that would want that car with a manual anyway. I want it. And damnit, if I’m paying for it, put it in my car... because I said so. Don’t make me go all childhood mother on your asses.
I’m so tired of these interviews where product engineers and vehicle dynamics specialists undermine the question of “why no manual?” or condescendingly reply that a car has too much torque for a clutch pedal. Well you know what, Franz, then take all that power and torque out of the car and let me enjoy all that I can, instead of fantasize about all that I’ll never be able to use. Why can’t I just go to a race track? Well, as much as I want to, it’s a tad difficult when I just took out a $343,784 loan for my brand new 911 Turbo fantastico RS 5.4. It’s really special, because it has contrasting stitching in the seats that looks like a middle finger. Did I mention I couldn’t get a manual transmission with it because that would make it slower around every race track than a Nissan GT-R?
There’s a war going on between everything and the GT-R, folks. It’s cheap(er), not so special to look at or live in, and has more computing power than all of Japan. Oh, and did I mention that it’s faster than anything else, and that does kind of make it bad ass and cool. Isn’t it awesome?! Totes, dude. And I do lift, bro.
Let’s just go through the list of great cars that don’t come with a manual, even though they should.
Aston Martin: Vanquish, Vanquish Volante | Audi: A3 TDI, RS 5, S6, RS 6, S7, RS 7, TTS | Bentley: Continental GT | BMW: 6-Series, 328d, 535d, X1, X3, X5, Z4 sDrive35is | Ferrari: every model… | Hyundai Genesis Sedan | Jaguar: XKR, XKR-S, XFR, XFR-S, F-Type | Lamborghini: Aventador | Mercedes-Benz: SLS AMG, SLS AMG Black Series, well, every AMG product… CLA | Porsche: 991 GT3, 991 Turbo/Turbo S, Panamera GTS, Cayenne GTS
But let’s take a moment and feel good about the cars that do come with a good ol’ fashioned manual.
Aston Martin: V8 Vantage, V12 Vantage/Vantage S | Audi: S4, S5, R8 | BMW: M3, soon-to-be M4 (don’t get me started on that), M5, M6, 3-Series, 4-Series, 1-Series, some of the 535s and 550s | Cadillac: ATS, CTS-V | Chevrolet: Camaro, Corvette Stingray | Chrysler group: Dodge Challenger, SRT Viper | Fiat: 500 Abarth | Ford: Mustang, Focus ST, Fiesta ST | Hyundai Genesis Coupe | Lamborghini: LP560-4 | Lotus: Evora | Mazda: 3, 6, CX-5 | McLaren: MP4-12c | MINI: Cooper, Clubman, Countryman | Porsche: Cayman, 911 Carrera, Boxster | Scion: FR-S | Subaru: BRZ
I know I’m forgetting some cars...
Now the replacement for the Galardo LP560-4 won’t have a manual, but let me take a quick moment to say that you can build a $180,000 Audi R8 V10 Plus with a manual transmission. Yes, a super car that still has a manual gearbox.
But this is what sucks: Porsche are showing off these new, amazing models. I mean, the Turbo and Turbo S have active aerodynamics that do things that no other car can do right now. Also, the new GT3 is absolutely awesome, except for the fact that it’s PDK only, just like the new Turbo.
While I don’t doubt that the new GT3 and Turbo models are going to drive exceptionally. I mean, for God’s sake... they’re Porsches, you think I’m that nuts to think otherwise? But to hear and see Andreas Preuninger speak annoyingly about people wanting a non-PDK gearbox in the GT3 is just ridiculous to me. At some point we have to quit this obsession with speed at any cost and worry about usable performance.
For those that would like to argue against my point that the GT-R is the reason all this is happening, I give you exhibit a: The fastest current lap time of the Nissan GT-R at the Nürburgring is 7:24.22, and Porsche were first saying that the new 2014 911 GT3 would lap the Nordschleife in “under 7:30″. And we’re now hearing it’s about 7:25.
When Flat Sixes interviewed Mr. Preuninger about the new GT3, this was his answer to the question of “why no manual?”
“When a huge part of our customers still insist on a manual we will not ignore this. But, a manual will be not only slower in acceleration but the car will also be less capable in cornering because we cannot combine the electronic e-diff with a manual, because there’s no hydraulic pump in the manual to feed the e-diff. Positive influence of e-diff is significant on turn in, under steer (none at all) and brake stability.”
When Road & Track did their first drive of the new GT3 back in April, Jason Cammisa wrote how great the car was, but that there was just something missing:
“The GT3 has always been the 911 that offered the least of what techno-crazed Germans would call “progress,” but as a result, it led the sports-car world in terms of driving experience. It was the rawest, purest expression of everything that defines the 911—right down to its detuned race motor and wrist breaker of a manual shift lever.”
“Ugh, God, you’re one of them!” says Preuninger, rolling his eyes. “Just shut up and drive the thing.”
Later Cammisa said this, which is spot on:
“And while the GT3′s PDK is one of the better automatics, there is not, nor will there ever be, an automatic that is as involving as a manual. The 911, like so many other cars, has traded a degree of involvement for speed. We’d happily lose time on the sprint to 60 mph, or a few seconds per lap, if it meant more fun”
But I also have to say one thing. Car buyers are truly at fault. Lazy, fast food eating, cell phone using, gotta have it now car buyers. The very people that cause the most accidents, drive more irresponsibly, and have a dedicated lack of responsibility in this world. And that’s our fault. We don’t challenge students in school enough, nor do we push them to go after their dreams. Well, we push them to go after their dreams, but we give them the easy way out. Your state government just wants the tax dollars, so they’ll give nearly anyone a license for just studying enough and knowing how to pull into a parking space. Congratulations, society. We’ve made wimpier people that are allowed to drive faster cars just because they have a driver’s license and the money to do so.
Screw that. I’ll gladly accept the fact that I’m a better driver because I want to be. I grew up in a car family, and that drive made me want to be what I am today.
Grow up, people. Get a life and enjoy it for once. Use your left leg, and don’t be ashamed of having to do things yourself, or even think for yourself every once in a while. Put your iPhone down; stop Instagramming; and go out and put your windows down and throw some of that passion into your driving habits.