A Sight That Will Soon Disappear?
Isn’t it sad? If you’re anything like me you’ll look at the opening shot above and wonder how long it will be before the manual transmission becomes extinct in new cars. We often concentrate only on the evolution of the internal combustion engine, but the transmission has gone through just as much development over the decades. It’s something I’ve often thought about, and why I decided to put this post together.
The good old manual gearbox always proved a safe and relatively simple way to channel drive to the wheels, and in Europe at least it’s always been the most commonly used transmission type. Growing up between Italy and the UK, it’s all I was exposed to. Apart from high-end luxury cars with autos, people shuffled through cogs and released drive via a clutch pedal – and it’s still that way for a lot of people.
But let’s get back to what’s happening today, because I find it interesting how things are currently developing. On one side you have the Germans and a lot of other European manufacturers that are equipping all sorts of cars with dual-clutch transmissions. It makes total sense, as this is a true development of the transmission and a step forward that mates the feel of an automatic with the layout of a manual. DCTs are fast, efficient, have a good feel and when used manually provide feedback and satisfaction.
We could argue for a long time about this, but at the end of the day the ‘right’ transmission is largely dependent on the type of car you are talking about, its use, and probably most of all – its driver. Sure, more and more people prefer the self-shifting options out there, and that’s fine, but manufacturers must understand that for however small of a market, offering a manual will work for them rather than against. Enthusiasts are a picky bunch, but keep them happy and they’ll stay loyal.
(SpeedHunters.com)
