Will Volvo kill the stick shift? Audi has

[JimBee]

In my opinion that would be a loss.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/ca ... 131578002/

BTW: thankfully, the 360C is just a concept, probably spawned out an imagination fueled on magic mushrooms.
But then, 50 years out, who knows what the future might hold?

[Rattnalle]

Europe has been a holdout keeping sticks as the most common option until recently.

Volvo and all the other premium makers are selling a large majority automatics by now.

About time imo. Sticks have a place on performance cars but they really don't add anything for daily driving. And let's face it most of these premium cars are sofas on wheels rather than drivers cars. And the drivers cars they do make, BMW and Mercedes at least, they all use blisteringly fast automatics with optional manual operation using paddles anyway.

[abscate]

They can pry the 5 or six gears from my cold, unlubricated shift fingers.....

[WhatAmIDoing]

I can totally see manual boxes being replaced by manumatic dual clutch transmissions (ie paddle shifting). They are as fast or faster than an automatic, but they still feel like a manual and you don't have nearly the torque loss of an automatic. It's the best of both worlds, IMHO.

I think manuals will stick around in economy cars due to there simplicity and ease of manufacturing. And I expect manuals to still have their place in motorsport and performance applications for quite some time. I also don't see heavy trucks and tractors completely abandoning manuals anytime soon.

[Rattnalle]

I can totally see manual boxes being replaced by manumatic dual clutch transmissions (ie paddle shifting). They are as fast or faster than an automatic, but they still feel like a manual and you don't have nearly the torque loss of an automatic. It's the best of both worlds, IMHO.

I think manuals will stick around in economy cars due to there simplicity and ease of manufacturing. And I expect manuals to still have their place in motorsport and performance applications for quite some time. I also don't see heavy trucks and tractors completely abandoning manuals anytime soon.

Lorries have all but abandoned manuals by now and it's nothing new either. It's much more reliable and more drivable with heavy loads. And sure it's kind of fun driving a manual lorry with 12-16 gears but it's nothing I'd want to do for a living.

In sports the manuals could live on but even in economy cars they're slowly going away over here. The cost to add an automatic isn't very high and the cars are slightly easier to sell.

Also the new autos like the aidin 8 speed with lockup on every gear that Volvo and many others use are really quite good and don't have that same auto feeling as older ones do.

[matthew1]

The writing was on the wall 15-ish years ago when PDK autos (and other styles/makes) became faster on the strip and track than manuals.

VW is the only mass car manufacturer left making manuals that has any takeup rate worth mentioning. GTI for instance is around 50%, which is incredibly high by today's standards. No pun intended.

[June]

I can totally see manual boxes being replaced by manumatic dual clutch transmissions (ie paddle shifting). They are as fast or faster than an automatic, but they still feel like a manual and you don't have nearly the torque loss of an automatic. It's the best of both worlds, IMHO.

I think manuals will stick around in economy cars due to there simplicity and ease of manufacturing. And I expect manuals to still have their place in motorsport and performance applications for quite some time. I also don't see heavy trucks and tractors completely abandoning manuals anytime soon.

Lorries have all but abandoned manuals by now and it's nothing new either. It's much more reliable and more drivable with heavy loads. And sure it's kind of fun driving a manual lorry with 12-16 gears but it's nothing I'd want to do for a living.

In sports the manuals could live on but even in economy cars they're slowly going away over here. The cost to add an automatic isn't very high and the cars are slightly easier to sell.

Also the new autos like the aidin 8 speed with lockup on every gear that Volvo and many others use are really quite good and don't have that same auto feeling as older ones do.

I have seen this year while car shopping with my sister the mpg higher on the automatic and lower on the standard on the exact same 2018 car with only the transmission different. She bought the fancy edition Camry btw.

We looked at Hyundai, Volkswagen, Ford, Toyota, Chevrolet, and Kea. It may have been the Corolla or one of the Korean cars. Toyota bent over backward to sell her the car and that is why she bought the Camry it was $2,000 package to get the safety extras, but she got a $36k window sticker car out the door for $24k! It's not Volvo so no in my book...

Also with electric cars and hybrid cars increasingly filling the economy car niche I dont think standard is possible on thoes??? June

[abscate]

Mom Abscate, Age 87, spooling up the T5M56 - Lets see what this puppy can do...

[June]

IMG_1499.jpg

Did you do what Jeremy Clarkson did and teach your mother to do doughnuts? June

[WhatAmIDoing]

I can totally see manual boxes being replaced by manumatic dual clutch transmissions (ie paddle shifting). They are as fast or faster than an automatic, but they still feel like a manual and you don't have nearly the torque loss of an automatic. It's the best of both worlds, IMHO.

I think manuals will stick around in economy cars due to there simplicity and ease of manufacturing. And I expect manuals to still have their place in motorsport and performance applications for quite some time. I also don't see heavy trucks and tractors completely abandoning manuals anytime soon.

Lorries have all but abandoned manuals by now and it's nothing new either. It's much more reliable and more drivable with heavy loads. And sure it's kind of fun driving a manual lorry with 12-16 gears but it's nothing I'd want to do for a living.

In sports the manuals could live on but even in economy cars they're slowly going away over here. The cost to add an automatic isn't very high and the cars are slightly easier to sell.

Also the new autos like the aidin 8 speed with lockup on every gear that Volvo and many others use are really quite good and don't have that same auto feeling as older ones do.

Many lorries are going to dual clutch automatic transmissions, mostly for the reasons I already listed. I never thought torque converters had a place on heavy freight trucks. Volvo's iShift is the only auto-trans I've ever liked in a truck. Later I learned it was a DCT and learned about how they work. DCTs are great in long haul trucks for improving fuel economy and driveability, but they are quite a bit more expensive. I think the much lower cost will keep manual transmission in trucks for quite some time. Also, manuals are still much better for hauling very heavy cargo.