Et tu, BMW?

[Beemerguy53]

In 54 years of driving, I've never owned a vehicle with an automatic transmission. (I tell people I never learned to drive an automatic, and that if it doesn't have three pedals and a shifter with numbers on it, I can't drive it.) My daily driver is a 2013 VW Golf R, and my weekend toy is a 2018 BMW M2...both of which have 6-speed standard transmissions.

I realize times are changing, and electric vehicles are the wave of the future...but still, the news that BMW is throwing in the towel and phasing out standard transmissions is still hard to accept. After all, it was the good folks at Bayerische Motoren Werke who first coined the phrase "German driving machine"...and I always thought they would hang on to clutches and stick shifts until the bitter end...

BMW's Manual Transmission Dies With the Current M2 - Road & Track

 

[LVSteve]

I went to automatics in England (land of the stick shift) in 1991. Traffic volume had just got to the point that driving a stick wasn't worth it anymore. Yes, my buddies were appalled, until they got to travel in a car with a modern auto box. There was plenty of manual override and engine braking ability even in 1991. They were all thinking of the slushboxes of the 1970s.

The ZF 8-speed transmission found in most BMWs is a first class bit of equipment, to the point that your grandmother could stomp anybody in the same car with a stick over a 1/4 mile. Recall that all magazine road tests of stick shifts involve an abusive starting procedure like sidestepping the clutch with the motor wound up to 4k, or something similar. Even the motoring press have had to admit that the days of the stick always being that little bit quicker are gone.

The modern auto box gives 99.9% of the customer base all the performance they want with no muss or fuss. The 0.1% "driver engagement" club gets pushed aside in the search for profit. Expect Porsche to follow, except maybe on the GT2/GT3 type cars. Perhaps the stick will survive there, but I wouldn't put money on it.

 

[Breakaway500]

The only automatic vehicle I own pushes shnow.
The car (and truck) world has been going shiftless for some time.CVTs are the worst.
First Peterbuilt auto I encountered made me cringe.
Its difficult to find a stick on any light truck and most performance cars as well in todays market.As much as I respect the automatics ability to shift, I like to be the deciding factor when to select and engage a speed.
Seeing students try and operate a manual on a race track makes me glad there is an alternative though.At least BMW has a great auto shift control system in their cars.Some companies don't..actually many dont. They shift but not with much consistency and can be plain old balky.I'm pulling the damn paddle...SHIFT!

 

[pharmer]

I was done with standard trans in 2010. There is a light on every corner and traffic everywhere else. How am I supposed to surf the net with both hands busy all the time? Joe

 

[grover99]

I was stick only until about 2010 when my left knee started hurting every time I pushed in the clutch. If not for that I still would being driving a stick as long as I could find one.

 

[Rodan]

I've had manuals in just about everything most of my life, but automatics these days are nothing like the TH350 and C6 of old.

When we bough our current Ram 3500 diesel dually, I made the decision to go automatic. The truck it replaced was basically the same truck with a manual transmission. It's amazing how much less work it was to drive the automatic truck. When you're hauling/towing heavy loads, that's a big factor, and it's nice to arrive at your destination with a lot less fatigue.

We had a Camaro ZL1 with the 10 speed auto, and I've driven a Porsche GT3 with the PDK auto. On the racetrack, again, the driver's workload is decreased significantly. This allows you to use that extra capacity for focus on other tasks that make you faster around the track. They also shift faster and smoother than anyone can with a manual.

All that said, I still love the driver engagement of a manual, and have several in the fleet. Including our BMW wagon.

 

[Truckman]

When we bough our current Ram 3500 diesel dually, I made the decision to go automatic. The truck it replaced was basically the same truck with a manual transmission.

My current mighty 2009 Dodge/Cummins is equipped with an Aisin 6-speed auto...Operation has been flawless in 190,000 miles so far...But I still miss its predecessor, my 2003 Dodge/Cummins 6-speed manual...The shifting was notchy compared to the previous 5-speed, but still enjoyable...Unfortunately, and due to my own error in ignoring signals from my diabetes, it went to Copart Heaven......Ben

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[SMSgt]

Knees made shifting a pain in the butt. Now with metal knees, I don't think I'd like it either. I'd only want a stick if I had my '64 GTO back. So faar, I've had less problems with a CTV tranny than those wonderful Ford and Chevy ones. As long as the vehicle goes when I step on the gas, I don't care much how it works--just that it does.

 

[glenwolde]

Have no fear! There's an app for that!

Electric Vehicle Stupidity, Take II

I foresee being able to totally customize the fakeshift. Peak torque at an RPM of your choosing.

 

[Protocall_Design]

We have a lot of BMW cars around here with the 4matic transmission. What is that?

 

[Krogen]

No autos in my garage; 100% stick. We've heard the arguments for/against the stick, but no matter. I just like doing it myself. I'd rather not have the transmission make decisions for me, even if they're better decisions. It's like many years ago when my cousin was trying to make breakfast. She was probably 6 or 7 and her Dad was "teaching." She spouted "Daddy! Let me burn it myself!" Same here; let me shift it myself!

 

[johngalt]

We have a lot of BMW cars around here with the 4matic transmission. What is that?

4matic is the Mercedes all wheel drive system.

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

Two of the vehicles I've driven that were the MOST fun was an old 1970's vintace Chevy C10 with a straight six and three on the tree and a 1984 bright red Honda Prelude with a 5 speed. I used ot teach my girlfriend's (now wife) friends how to drive standards and loved them. Learned how to drive in a 1973 green Super Beetle. Back then I was young, full of piss and vinegar and ...well basically a male slut. Today I is old, move a little bit slower and can find better ways to occupy my hands and feet while driving rather than clutching and shifting. But back in the day, I could smoke a cigarette, drink a beer and drive that old truck with the best of them!

 

[yaktamer]

For my purposes, the worst thing about the death of the manual and the rise of the CVT is the dwindling number of vehicles that can be flat towed.

 

[Rodan]

I don't mind a good self-shifter, but CVTs are awful.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

Over the years, I have driven many manual transmissions.
The last one I owned was a a BMW Z3. That was a pretty slick set up.
Now driving an auto Toyota RAV4, my manual tranny days are probably behind me.

 

[NYlakesider]

Been a hot rodder/ gearhead since I was about 13YO. Learned to drive a stick that was 3 on the tree with unsynchronized first gear. To do "fancy driving'' you first had to master the double clutch. Normally always had a performance vechicle in the garage.

The proud owner of 7 Corvettes over the years and a person that always said ''a sports car only should have a manual box''.

Well aging does sometimes make you eat some crow and I dined on that bird a couple times. Due to medical reasons my last Vette a 15 I ordered it with a slushbox. Now again due to medical that Vette is gone as it was harder and harder to get in and out of.-- c'est la vie.

 

[Beemerguy53]

We have a lot of BMW cars around here with the 4matic transmission. What is that?

You might be thinking of X-Drive, which is prominently displayed on the trunk lid of BMWs so-equipped. It's their all-wheel-drive system. In Europe it's available with either standard or automatic transmissions, but in the USA it's found only on cars with automatics.

 

[Beemerguy53]

No autos in my garage; 100% stick. We've heard the arguments for/against the stick, but no matter. I just like doing it myself. I'd rather not have the transmission make decisions for me, even if they're better decisions...

Amen.

I've heard all the arguments over the years for automatic transmissions, and I still prefer my standards.

Yes, good modern performance automatics are more efficient, shift faster, and result in better lap times on a track. Except that I don't drive on a track, and I don't drive performance cars for their efficiency; I drive them because they are pleasurable to drive.

Nothing beats a well-executed upshift at the peak of the engine's torque curve, or a perfectly-timed heel-and-toe downshift on a favorite mountain road. I like having all four limbs engaged in the driving experience, and having to think about what I'm doing. I like to drive my cars, instead of having my cars drive me.

I have had both knees replaced, and two spinal fusions. I have all the aches and pains associated with my age. I drive in urban stop-and-go traffic every single day. None of that matters. I will change gears myself until they pry my cold dead hands off my shifter and steering wheel...

The Manual Gearbox Preservation Society - Home

 

[GaryS]

Cars went down hill when they replaced the crank with one of those new fangled electrical starter motors.

I still miss crank out front windows too! Defrosters cost more money because they run the AC.