Canary In The Coal Mine

"PS9" (PS9) 10/02/2018 at 17:47 • Filed to: None

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!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . So goes BMW, so goes the world of compact RWD performance sedans. The part of it that didn’t leave already, that is.

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > PS9 10/02/2018 at 17:54

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Flip side: the 3 series hasn’t really had much more sporting capabilities than a Camry for the last decade (I would say since E46). They've been GT cars since then, where an Auto is appropriate. Manuals will live on, but only in absolute stripper bas e models and actual performance cars.

AM3R, lost another burner > PS9 10/02/2018 at 17:54

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This saddens me. 

Spanfeller is a twat > PS9 10/02/2018 at 17:54

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Meanwhile at Hyundai

“HEY WE EXIST!” 

WilliamsSW > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 10/02/2018 at 17:57

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I think I would argue that the E90 still had enough sporting capability for a manual, and a hell of a lot more than the Camry.

But the F30 didn’t - I’ve driven most of the variants of that car (manual and auto) and frankly, the auto suited it better.

But I still want a manual option dammit!!!

Nauraushaun > PS9 10/02/2018 at 17:59

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Can you get a manny 1/2 series? There’s an argument to be made that with general embiggening of cars like the 3-series, the introduction of a smaller car (closer in size/weight to the E30!) to carry the compact RWD performance torch is the correct move.

Like the 2-series Active Tourer and Gran Tourer :)

PS9 > Spanfeller is a twat 10/02/2018 at 18:01

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Who said that? Meh, must have been a ghost. Whelp, off to the Audi dealership. 

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > WilliamsSW 10/02/2018 at 18:04

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I rather like the 8 speed in my mom’s F30. It makes so much power so smoothly that I can’t imagine it with a manual. You would constantly be shifting to the point of lost fun.

Aside, what’s up with naming convent ions for chassis? They went E90 F30 now G20. Couldn't stay with F a while longer?

nermal > PS9 10/02/2018 at 18:04

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The sporting nature of the 3-series went away with the F30..... The new ones are bigger than an E39 5-series, so they’ve moved up a class.

I think the last of the “old school” sport sedans was the Chevy SS, and the best of the currently available is the Alfa, although it is sadly auto-only .

That said, you can still get a manual Golf R, which is only 3" shorter than an E46 and better in most every way. You can also still get a manual 2-series, which is only 2" shorter than an E46 and also better in most every way.

Future next gen S2000 owner > PS9 10/02/2018 at 18:08

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I resigned myself to the fate of the manuals. My purchasing power of one new car every 8ish years isn’t enough. The cars I want are all available as a manual but most are used so....yeah.

I’ll be damned if someone at Honda doesn’t get a beat-down if the next S2000 shows up auto only though.

Spanfeller is a twat > PS9 10/02/2018 at 18:09

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*ghost sounds*

“Rear-wheel Drive”

*ghost sounds*

“4 cyl, 240hp”

*ghost sounds*

“SIX SPEED MANUAL”

facw > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 10/02/2018 at 18:11

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I’m not even sure about the stripper base models. Kia apparently has a manual take rate of around 4% on the Rio, Forte, and Soul, is that even worth it to them?

The situation isn’t much better on performance cars. A manual makes good sense for light, low HP sports cars like the Miata and Toybaru twins, but it seems like the general consensus on high-HP cars is that a traditional manual is just going to hurt performance.

K-Roll-PorscheTamer > PS9 10/02/2018 at 18:13

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To buy an Automatic Audi?

JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t > PS9 10/02/2018 at 18:16

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Godamnit.

I knew President Drumpf ’s Anti-Mexican rhetoric was going to bite us car guys in the ass...

jasmits > facw 10/02/2018 at 18:29

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Ah yes, really going to notice that 10th of a second on my 0-60 time on that next on-ramp. 

WilliamsSW > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 10/02/2018 at 18:33

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I think the chassis codes somehow went from being for internal engineering use to being a marketing tool. SMDH.

jasmits > nermal 10/02/2018 at 18:40

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Yup. Every time another manual bites the dust I get sad and then realize that I never would’ve bought one anyway . I can’t think of a single car on the market right now besides a few supercars and hypercars that I’ll never be able to afford anyway where, if I was actually in the market for a car in that price range, the addition of a manual would cause me to buy that over something that’s already on the market with a manual.

In that general price range I’d have a Focus RS or Golf R all day over a manual 3-series.

facw > jasmits 10/02/2018 at 18:41

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Don’t talk to me, talk to the people who build and buy these cars.

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > WilliamsSW 10/02/2018 at 19:07

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I blame the E30 for that

random001 > PS9 10/02/2018 at 20:18

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Problem with all these posts is that we’re not the kind of people to drop major coin on new manual trans cars anyway, by and large, and there are plenty of used fun cars with manuals out there.

Textured Soy Protein > PS9 10/02/2018 at 20:24

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Being the canary in the coal mine would imply that this is an initial warning sign of an impending disaster. This is more like the one of the few remaining miners is succumbing to the black lung.

MiniGTI - now with XJ6 > PS9 10/02/2018 at 20:25

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First they came for the NA six, then the manuals…

WilliamsSW > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 10/02/2018 at 20:45

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I feel like it came later - like many of BMW’s problems, the E90 was the sign.  *Every* 3-series from ~99-05 was an E46.  But the next generation had the E91, E92 and E93 as well as the E90.  Now, every 4 door “coupe” or 3 door extended wheelbase hatchback has its own designation...

wafflesnfalafel > PS9 10/02/2018 at 20:50

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wow...  

StndIbnz, Drives a MSRT8 > PS9 10/03/2018 at 09:07

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“compact” hahahahaha.  You’re thinking of the 2-series.