Manual Transmission and it’s road towards extinction.
Is the manual transmission a dying breed or is there light at the end of the tunnel?
Well, we at The Automotive Anecdotes prioritize this as one of the most important topics to address.
A Manual transmission or also known as ‘Stick Shift’ is the kind of transmission equipped in cars for decades which is based on the engaging and disengaging operation of a clutch by the driver to regulate torque from the engine to the transmission and shift through gear ratios with a shifter. Now this makes it obvious that a driver is more proactive while driving a car with manual transmission as compared to driving one with an automatic transmission where the changing of gear ratios occur automatically.
Yes, a car with an automatic transmission is quicker and the ones in the market since recently have been much more fuel efficient as well.
But, a large number of us in the world still believe till this date that the manual transmission makes it more appealing, fun to drive and requires more driver input. I really believe a driver is “connected” in spiritual terms with his car when equipped with a manual transmission (some may say otherwise but I stand by what I said).Well only because, if you’re a person who really enjoys every minute of the driving experience, you will know that being able to have a ‘mutual understanding’ or physical connection with the car so to speak — that synchronized movement of your leg with the clutch and your hand with the shifter which gives you that adrenaline rush that most of us crave for. Isn’t that oh so much is better than trading it in for a transmission which provides a lower vehicle control and provides no ‘feel’ as such?
Automatic Transmission is the primary reason for the decline of the manual transmission equipped cars for three main reasons:
- A relative ease in learning how to drive
- Much more comfort in driving through traffic
- Easier to drive on steep hill climbs and slopes
Yes, an automatic transmission essentially makes life easier on the road as compared to a manual transmission. In the U.S., more than 96% of the cars on the road are cars with an automatic transmission.
Although Europe and Japan have an equal share of cars on the road with both kinds of transmissions, European Super-car manufacturers as well as Japanese Sports Car Manufacturers have 80% of their cars manufactured with either an automatic transmission or a semi-automatic transmission.
Another kind of transmission which takes away the operation of engaging and disengaging the clutch, although retains the need to shift gears is a semi-automatic transmission. Also popularly known as cars with paddle shifts which have an automatic clutch but the shifting of gears is done manually usually with the help of two paddles on either side of the steering wheel. Most super-cars and sports cars and since recently production cars, are equipped with this kind of transmission and half the consumers who would’ve preferred a manual as compared to an automatic, have succumbed to semi-automatics.
In all forms of Motorsport, be it Formula One, WRC, WEC — the cars are equipped with semi-automatic sequential transmission, in which there is pre-selection of gears before the shift takes place. This allows for faster and smoother gear changes, which is an absolute requisite in these sort of events.
Super-car Manufacturers such as Lamborghini rolled out their last manual transmission equipped car in 2010 i.e., Lamborghini Murcielago LP 670–4 SuperVeloce. Ferrari’s last manual transmission equipped car, the Ferrari California, was stopped in 2011. Automobile Manufacturer Nissan’s iconic model, the GTR, saw a permanent change in transmission from the R34 → R35 variants.
Aston Martin was the most recent of manufacturers to shift their prestige Vantage Model which has a variant with a manual transmission, a 7-speed dogleg manual in the Vantage S which I have the most utmost respect for (Imagine going through 7 Gear ratios manually).
The 2018 Vantage comes with a 7-speed Automatic instead. Mercedes-Benz, as far as I know, have only a single model with a manual transmission equipped, the 2015 Mercedes-Benz SLK-250.
Many more manufacturers have stopped 90% or complete production of their cars with a manual transmission.
All of the above are contributing factors to the widespread feeling that the manuals are a dying breed and also the probability that us enthusiasts will have to end up explaining to our grandchildren what a manual transmission is and how it works. But if we just take two steps back and look at the Automotive market from a wider perspective, one will be able to deduce the real path on which the manuals are on for the decades to come.
The Light at the end of the Tunnel
Now I’m not going to consider the fact that Porsche still manufactures their 911 GT3 with a 6-Speed Manual or that some of the European manufacturers have kick-off level hatchbacks with manual transmission and say that the manuals are saved for the rest of the century. As promising as that is, in order to say that manuals will be around for a substantial amount of time (hopefully) it needs more credibility than a car here and there.
Most people around the world who’ve been ranting “Save the manuals” haven’t taken into consideration two vital aspects which are very promising in terms of the manual transmission’s survival for atleast our generation, if not the next.
- A sub-category of the Sports cars segment (around the $30,000 range) diligently use the manual transmission. Yes, I’m talking about the Fiat 124, Subaru WRX, Subaru BRZ, Ford Focus ST, VW Golf GTI, Ford Mustang GT, Ford Fiesta ST, Chevrolet Camaro, Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat, Nissan 370Z, Mini Cooper S, Fiat 500 Abarth, Hyundai Veloster Turbo, Toyota 86, Mazda MX-5, Honda Civic SI and similar entry level sports cars which perform extremely well for their stature, a pleasure to drive and the consumers have a keen eye on them as well.
Such cars flaunt the manual transmission with such finesse there by showing a promising future for the Manuals. I wouldn’t be saying this if the consumers would’ve reacted differently towards an entire sub-category of a segment in the Automobile market. Most enthusiasts are huge lovers of one or more cars mentioned above or the entire segment as a whole.
Furthermore, cars such as Subaru WRX STI, Honda Civic Type R, Ford Focus RS come exclusively with a manual transmission, increasing the possibilities that manual transmission equipped cars are here to stay for more longer than the world thinks.
2. The Motorsport Factor.
→ The World Rally Championship Cars and World Rally Cross cars use a transmission arguably similar to that of a regular manual car. They are equipped with a Sequential Manual transmission which do not permit direct access to specific gears as compared to the H-pattern in the standard manual transmission.
This kind of transmission causes only a brief interruption of engine torque to complete a shift into any adjacent gear with the help of a dog clutch. A presence of a dog clutch might mean that shifting of gears can be done with little to none engagement of the clutch,
but it still is a vital pedal when the car is coming into and exiting out of corners as well as off the line (or from a standstill).
→I’m sure most of y’all would firmly say that the sequential set up is much more different than the standard one, there by saying the Motorsport factor is irrelevant. Probably y’all are right, although it’s the closest alternative towards which more than 3/4th of the individuals who are manual transmission fanatics wouldn’t mind switching to.
Surely, it’s the best alternate transmission out there as compared to the others I covered earlier in this story. Also, the sequential manual transmission setup is one of the many beginner performance modifications enthusiasts get done to their car.
→ Drift car competitions in countries such as Sweden and Ireland compete in cars with either the standard manual transmission or the sequential manual transmission. These events don’t plan on parting ways with the manual transmission anytime soon since the manually controlled clutch is essential for the driver in order to make the car drift.
Taking these two factors into consideration, even though the fact that the Motorsport influenced by the need for more driver input has leveled up to the sequential manual transmission and has disposed off the standard setup in their cars is fairly debatable when it comes to it being supportive of a bright future for standard manual transmission. Nevertheless it is based on one of the important concepts of the need for the driver to be more proactive in his/her seat; As long as WRC, WRX and the several rally and drift car events don’t plan on revamping their car transmissions and the sub-category of the sports car segment still get consumers up and jumping, we won’t have to worry about the manual transmission becoming extinct anytime soon. But we will have to bid adieu to the hopes of having SUVs, crossovers and sedans being produced with a manual transmission from here on.
We staunchly believe the manual transmission will survive half of the time of our generation, which we could probably say is the next three decades at least with active roll in cars in several Rally events as well as production cars.
As lucky as we are, we need to cherish the pleasure of driving a car with a manual transmission until it lasts. Although I have nothing personal against the other available transmissions, when the time comes be sure to support the cause
“SAVE THE MANUALS!”
“Pop. Drop. Flat Out.
Try that with an automatic, I dare ya.”
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