chuck911

So, keeping score here, to the list of nobody knows how to drive, nobody wants to drive, we know its slow, and you can bump start it (maybe) when your battery dies, we can now add, almost as good as a Casio?

You're winning me over. No, really.

drmatara

Actually I would not mind to drive my MT car the way I want to, and then when I go to a nice restaurant, instead of valet it...just tell my autonomous car to go and find a parking in the neighborhood and wait till I call her back...that would be just fine with me...

drmatara

They buy because dealers want that extra 4k for the PDK so they don't even order any MT so people can drive back to back and make an informed decision...so the only way you can drive a MT is to custom order it as I did ...

Team Plutonium

Dealer spec their cars based on demand that in turn is based on their demographics. That the PDK cost more is an added bonus, but the overall profit the dealer makes is pretty low to start out with, so an extra option won't make much of a difference. So no, they don't spec the cars with PDK to make more money, they spec them so they can sell the f@cking car in the first place.

And no again, you can find a car with a manual transmission to test drive, you might have to invest an extra 3 minutes to look around which dealer has one, and then god forbid maybe drive to a dealership further away. Call it the price we sad first class people have to pay to test drive and buy a manual 911.

So if you custom order a specific $100K car in order to test drive it and then hopefully like you are doing it wrong.

Grunty

Brave man. What if the answer had been "No sweat, Dad. I'm sure I can figure it out!".

MerlinsGarage

This would be an interesting and important survey for the Gen-Z's.

The car choices would probably follow PS, X-Box, some race car infused- movies and well heeled parents.
The MT vs Auto results may be suprising depending on where the poll takes place.
I live in the NorthEast. This area is rich in racing history as well as current multi-level automotive venues. Maybe no relevance - just sayin'.
So in this particular area, I can state for a fact when our (yellow) Porsche is at a sporting, automotive event or just out on the town, Gen-Z types LOOK for the manual trans in the car. The last case was just 2 days ago at a local resturant. We were leaving and a handful of 18-20 somethings were checking out the car.
One dude stated in a kinda snarky way, " It's an automatic"...........I said no, 7 speed manual. You could see the new found appreciation for the car, like a switch was flipped.
This is not a coincidence, this is every time we have a conversation with yutes and the Porsche, well not just the Porsche, we also sponsor and hold car events. Same results.
Anyway this may be a regional anomaly and inconsistant with other areas around the country.

But THAT information is what I would find to be fascinating............

WernerE

I quoted you accurately (props to your attempt at more spin).

The PDK vs. Manual debate is old and probably reminiscent of the air-cooled and water-cooled motors. If there's a parallel to that with transmissions 20 - 30 years from now, the manuals should do very well -- provided there's anyone left who recognizes a clutch pedal.

neanicu

Absolutely true!

And even though I'm in Northeast,I don't see why it wouldn't apply somewhere else...

Scottish Pete

This thread has provided me with the proper answer when my new C2S with PDK & Sport Chrono now sitting on the dock in San Diego arrives next week:
"It is a seven-speed twin clutch manual transmission with three increasingly aggressive levels of computer shifting."
That should impress the snotty-nosed brats who have already driven it on their home computer.

drmatara

After many tries at liking the PDK, I just did not develop that like for it so yes,I did spec a 100K+ car with 7MT and not only I liked it...I loved it the moment I got in...an yes I did purchase it...this is my 6th Porsche so I know what I want in a Porsche by now

chuck911

Thanks for bringing this up. It just so happens the water-cooled 996 came out right when I was at my peak of involvement with instructing Driver Ed, Autocross, and Driver Skills, as well as doing Tours and Concours. Leeds Gulick, first guy in the NW to get one, was just crazy fast coming down the hill, braking so late for 3A he was still accelerating hard where most other guys were already well into braking. But it wasn't just the speed. The 996 also had a much improved ride, was quieter, had heating and air conditioning that actually worked. Better interior design, materials, fit and finish. Even little things today's owners may take for granted like the rear view mirror being sized to match the view out the rear window were new developments on the first water-cooled 911.

In those days I attended in one year about 10 autocrosses with typically 110 cars each, half a dozen DE's with about 100 cars, and half a dozen Driver Skills with 30-40 cars. Not just attended but ran or was heavily involved in running. I bet there were close to 200 people I knew by name back then. Aside from the porous block production problem everyone knew about, NONE of them had ANYTHING bad to say about the new water-cooled engine.

I know this will be hard to believe for a lot of people, but back when the 996 was new it was THE BOMB! Sure there are always things to nitpick, Porsche did us no favors putting Boxster body parts on a 911, but compared to the panties in a twist skirts in the air screaming neenie nonsense over PDK there was zero, zip, nada, zilch. None. I bet if I went around and asked 10 friends from back then, all 10 would say the 996 was as big an improvement over the 993 as the 991 is over the 997. At least.

And you know what? Frankly, even today, when I talk to real live people who I know and trust, not a one of them has anything bad to say about PDK either. Oh sure like I said there are always things to nitpick- basically, it would be nice if it worked more like the GT3. But all this 180 degrees opposite to the truth nonsense about driver involvement? Romanticism verging on fetishism? Not a whiff.

What stands out even more, now that I think about it, is the way people who did have anything negative to say would talk about it. For starters, they would talk. Back and forth. If for example one said well you can't have as good car control with one foot waving around the other one would agree. I mean, how can you argue with that? They would not place hands firmly over ears refusing to listen. They would not deny this fact. They would not act as if it doesn't exist.

I don't pretend to know why things are so very different today. But they sure are.

Grunty

I think it's basically a Yankees vs. Mets thing. People just like to argue and it's harmless fun. Or at least I hope so.

I gotta say that the sport design wheel with paddles is aesthetically pretty awesome to behold. But so is the Audi r8 gated shifter with the milled ****.

s4awd

People don't like being questioned on choices they made especially if it's on an expensive and perceived coveted item. Why would you do that? It's a Porsche. Get manual you loser or why are you stuck in the Stone Age and ruining a car designed with all this technology etc

bccars

Where I live it will be very very close to 100% that master MT !

Noah Fect

The whole problem with Jerry911's question was that it didn't specify what model Porsche. Most Porsches are not 911s. For better or worse, most 911s are bought by dedicated sports car buffs who have wanted one for some time. I stand by my assertion that essentially all of those customers are experienced with stick shifts, or at least know how they work. The ~90% who are buying 911s with PDKs know exactly what they are doing.

Same with Caymans. Nobody is going to spend the money for a Cayman without knowing exactly what they're getting in return, and that means a high degree of sports-car literacy.

Boxsters, Panameras? Maybe, maybe not, I don't know. Cayennes and Macans? No reason to think those customers would know or care about manuals.