So if manuals are dying in US and Canada

"404 - User No Longer Available" (toni-cipriani)
08/29/2018 at 10:28 • Filed to: Manual

I wonder if it’s a feasible business model for them to just make them limited models that appear once every few years, maybe just one or two special models per generation?

Maybe Audi is experimenting this with the Ultrasport?

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Car makers are still definitely making them globally , so I can’t imagine them adding too much development cost near EOL of a platform. M aybe additional regulatory to get them certified.

DISCUSSION (10)

E90M3 > 404 - User No Longer Available
08/29/2018 at 10:40

It seems like only the performance models are the ones people really want with manuals. Since Audi got rid of manuals in the RS cars long ago, I’d be surprised to see another Audi on US shores with a stick. However, since people are still buying M cars with sticks, I wouldn’t be surprised to see those stick around for a while, pun intended.

404 - User No Longer Available > E90M3
08/29/2018 at 10:50

Yeah but what if I don’t want the power? Guess they need to sell it at the higher margin of the performance vehicles to justify.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > 404 - User No Longer Available
08/29/2018 at 11:11

I think you could make a good business out of factory ordering and immediately reselling manual Toyota Tacomas...

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > E90M3
08/29/2018 at 11:13

50% take rate on M2s makes my heart glad. Wondering what it is on the GT3...

[Googles] WOW! Awesome.

“ I can confirm that the overall take rate of the manual on the 2018 911 GT3 in the US is currently around 2/3rds. It started around 50% when we introduced the car last year and has been trending upward. Also due to the introduction of the Touring Package, which is only available with the manual.”

facw > 404 - User No Longer Available
08/29/2018 at 11:18

I think the cost is not in the manufacturing (because as you say they are available elsewhere), but in the EPA certification. To offset those costs they are best off offering a manual with an engine for its entire run or not at all.

404 - User No Longer Available > facw
08/29/2018 at 11:31

Then I don’t understand why BMW certified the 428/430i Gran Coupe in RWD Manual form with the CARB. It was never sold in the US, and only offered for a few months in Canada in MY2015.

E90M3 > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
08/29/2018 at 11:33

I’m surprised it’s that high for the Porsche. That makes me happy, although I wish they offered the turbo with a stick. Not that I could afford one, but I can dream.

nermal > 404 - User No Longer Available
08/29/2018 at 12:07

I could see the tables turning and a manual actually being a cost option in the future. Perhaps bundled into “special” packages like this one.

Manufacturers DGAF about anything besides turning a profit. If it’s a profitable option, it will be available. If not, it won’t.

Also, those wheels are awful.

merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc > 404 - User No Longer Available
08/29/2018 at 12:12

Yeah, they have to be able to recoup the costs of certification of the configuration and make a good ROI so that means they have to sell a crap ton of a low margin vehicle, or a few with high margins. And most people buying the low end trim cars aren’t interested in a stick shift, they are just buying a transportation appliance.

I love that we can still get some manual offerings. But not surprised they are going away. I had a first gen CTS-V and then had a B8 audi S4 6mt that was awesome, but then I outgrew it for family transport and went to the S8 that’s only offered with auto. I don’t really miss the stick for daily driving, but I’ll be getting a toy one of these days that will definitely be manual trans. It’s not the same flicking paddles on a spirited drive, but it will have to do for now. Just waiting for my boys to grow up a bit so they can wrench with me. Then I can get more toys. :).

404 - User No Longer Available > nermal
08/29/2018 at 13:25

In a sense it already is. These days it’s always bundled with specific engine options.