I don't think a manual transmission means all that much in the grand scheme of things. There's a small group of people that find it essential, and that group is getting smaller every day. First, because it takes some effort to become sufficiently skilled with a stick. And second, because clutchless and automatic tranmissions are getting more and more sophisticated.Chris330ci said:
Does anyone *really* think that in 25 years manual transmissions will be anything but a niche, additional-cost option preserved by only a few select manufactuters? 35 years? 50 years?
My Step transmission is damn good -- better than I am. And the day is quickly approaching when computers will completely overtake humans in this area. And frankly, I welcome it! If you're not worried about the minutia of gear-shifting, your mind is not free to concern itself with the real pleasures of the open road...
It seems to me that the term "driving enthusiast" is often appropriated by stick bigots (with all due respect, guys) for themselves, and worn like a merit badge. These people like to post pictures of their 3 pedals and say "this speaks for itself!" But this does an injustice to the whole community. There's an ineffable attitude that I think defines what it means to be a driving enthusiast that surpasses the number of pedals you have, or the engine you have, or how much money you've spent on your car versus someone else.
I can see why car managzines, whose constituency includes the manual drivers in larger proportions than normal, would pay attention to having an available manual transmission. But the fact of the matter is that this doesn't matter all that much for most of us -- and will matter less and less as time goes by.
There now. Right! Who's with me?!
