911sccab

For me, the lack of manual transmission choices is stealing my enthusiasm. I may wear a tinfoil hat, but I blame the Eco regs for that too, as well as nutty crash test requirements. The lower take rate on MT cars makes the testing requirements economically unfeasable. I like safe cars, but smashing up 15 manual transmission cars after already smashing up 15 substantially identical automatics doesn't help anybody.

arena-RTR

Do it anyway... I really think naturally aspirated sports cars are going to hold their value.

arena-RTR

It's not the regs. Even up to 2009-2010, the majority of sports car buyers were still buying manuals, but that percentage has dropped like a rock every year the PDK has been out.

Keep in mind that in the US, less than 5% of drivers are even capable of operating a manual...

hawc

Source? You can't just throw out stats like that without backing them up. Did you pick 5% out of the air? What's your source of that number? Link to it.

Tcc1999

Good point but reliable info is hard to come by. There's an oft cited EPA report (circa 2010) that puts the overall percentage of manuals at 6.7 percent. Other sources (e.g. Jalopnik, Edmunds, etc.), probably less credible, put the numbers anywhere from about three percent to eight percent depending upon the year. The data are out there, there's just no one parsing through it. (I haven't seen the EPA report but I suspect it is more about mpg ratings and not transmission types.). In the end, regardless of the credibility of the sources, the fact that they all seem to put the number of U.S. cars with manual transmissions between five and ten percent gives this guesstimate some credence.

Insofar as the number of cars with PDK versus manual transmission, these data are probably publicly available directly from PAG in annual sales reports as PDK is a Porsche product. The thing is, the steep rise in the number of PDK transmissions sold (and that sales people are pushing the technology) makes sense as CO2 CAFE rules and mpg requirements must be met and this may be easier to do with a fleet of "automatic" transmission cars which can be programmed to meet such standards more effectively than a manual.

STG

I read an article yesterday that 10% of all cars made in the U.S. are manuals. Obviously the amount of people that are "capable" of driving a manual is much higher. I'd guess 50% or more.

This article says 6.5% of ALL cars SOLD in the US are manual.

http://m.nydailynews.com/autos/drivi....1247896#bmb=1

NoGaBiker

I've just ordered a GTS and it's PDK -- first non-manual I've ever had, first time I've even considered it (and I'm talking sportscars and Wranglers, not family cars, etc.) I'll be interested to see if I continue to love it as much as I have for the 3 hours worth of testing I've done so far, or if I get to missing the manual and have to trade it after a short while. No way to know but to live with it for awhile. At least I still have a manual Wrangler to scratch the clutch-pedal-itch.

GSIRM3

My recently delivered 991 GTS is PDK also. I have been driving 911's off and on since the mid 1980's, and this is my first one without a manual. My feelings were about the same as yours, but I can say after owning the car for a month, I have NO regrets on the PDK. Hopefully I will feel the same in a year. I think I will.

Dude174

TJ wrangler? I have a manual one of those too I just got from my dad who incidentally lives in North Georgia

NoGaBiker

Nope, currently in a '14 JK ****** Edition. But love the TJs also.

NoGaBiker

Great to hear, GSIRM3. Sounds like we think alike, so I'm glad you're still loving the gearbox. Nice to have choices. The Golden Age, my friends, the Golden Age. Won't last forever, but right now (and for the past 15+ years) it has been an amazing run.

scatkins

Oh I've been confused all these years.. I never realized Hitler was in the pacific.. he must have overshot moscow...

Benedict14

I was channeling the Animal House quote by Bluto - "was it over when the Gemans bombed Pearl Harbor ?"

Agree with the previous poster regarding the C2 benefiting from the extra Tq. However, the exhaust sound might be a slightly different issue.

911sccab

The regs are a big part of it.

BMW has stripped manual transmissions from most of their US line up. Ditto the 5-series wagon. They've spent the money to design and build the product, so why not offer it here?

"It costs too much." Guess what costs so much... Meeting the regulations. No stick shift for you. Kiss freedom goodbye.

Dude174

Not to argue because I think regulations play a huge role, but manual transmissions - from what I understand - have too low of a take rate to make it worthwhile for the manufacturers. As in most of the world doesn't equate manual - sporty car (see countless pdk vs 7mt threads) so it's not worth the $$ for a dwindling take rate elsewhere around the world. Probably if we are honest, lower take rate here too.