2008 Mitsubishi Evo GSR: Why True Manuals Shouldn't Die

I could not agree more! Give me three pedals with a stick in the middle of the center console and nothing will be able to beat it for driver involvement or fun.

But how are you supposed to drink coffee, put on makeup, eat donuts or a McMuffin, or talk on your cell phone if you have to use your right hand to shift? ;)

I think Automatics have led to much less engaged drivers who are much less attentive and prone to accidents. I almost got hit twice last night on my way home!

I used to be a hard "manuals or nothing" type. Then I got my Miata. The manual is so good I want to go to Japan and shoot the engineers that made it because a better one cannot be made. It made the manual in all other cars seem like a frustrating chore. So when it was time to replace my winter car I got an auto. So now I have both; a smooth auto, and the greatest manual transmission known to man. However if ever I have to give up the Miata and had to drive only one car all year round, it would be a standard. A transmission has to go with the car; standard for sport, auto for luxury.

Amen to that! Nothing like driving a manual transmission. It can make even the most boring econobox enjoyable.

A great stick, however, brings it to another level. I love the snick-snick manuals in my TSX and Miata!

Carguy622, I completely agree with you. Why can't all manual transmissions be like the Miata's?
I will always have a manual transmission car. My first new car was ordered with a manual before I even knew how to work one.

There is something very theraputic about downshifting into a corner.

I think the new auto-manuals will replace the slush-boxes we have had for last couple decades. I don't ever think they will ever completely phase out that third petal.

Here is to hoping my clutch petal doesn't go the way of the dodo.

Amen, brother!

There is no way I will ever be without a manual. I simply don't feel one with the car without a manual.

There are a lot of us Miata guys here!

I hear the first two generations had a manual take rate of 80% - says a lot about the car. (And of its demographic...)

I agree about the manual, but having worked for Mazda, I always wondered why they didn't carry over the shifting excellence into the other cars. The 3's and 6's shifters seemed... somehow... rubberier (real word?). Just not quite as sharp. Still good, but not quite there. Maybe a NVH reducing step?

@fadetoblackii

I think it has to do with layout; in the Miata the shifter is right above the transmission so there's virtually no linkage, your hand is basically stirring the cogs in the transmission, the 3 and 6 are FWD transverse mounted so there's more distance between the shifter and the transmission. Some of the crispness and directness is lost in the linkage. This goes for cars with a transaxle too like the corvette and 944. I drove a 944 and was really surprised by how rubbery the shift action was.

Manuals are great, if you get to operate it properly. If you live in an area with a lot of traffic, stop lights/ signs, a lot of cops with nothing to do, and low speed limits, it is a detriment. The great escape from the city is the freeway, which is no better during the day. I finally gave up on it and own nothing but autos, but it is likely i'll have another manual soon. Hopefully, I'll have moved by then and all my cars could be manuals.

I'm really skeptical that the manual's going to die anytime soon, if ever. True, sports car companies are switching, but that's only for faster shift times and stuff like that. The cheap economy cars and daily drivers don't need that, so the companies making them probably won't put automated manuals in their cars. And people never realize that the U.S. is opposite the rest of the world when it comes to transmission choices. A vast majority of cars in Europe are manual, and the same goes for Asian countries. We're the only lazy country that has to do their makeup and eat donuts while driving. I say every car should be stick. That way, you'd have to pay attention. and the people that are too incompetent to learn wouldn't be on the roads.

I absolutely love manuals! You really get the true joy of driving when you're rowing through the gears and listnening to the engine purr. I'll take a manual option over an automatic any day!

I'm also skeptical that manuals will die soon. I really can't see a car like a Mazdaspeed 3 or a ZR1 with some stupid auto-manual dual clutch flappy paddle system in place of their traditional 6 speed offerings.

I still prefer manuals 100% of the time. My wife's X3 has a slushbox, as does my 1975 2002(my only excuse is that this E10 was just too nice and too inexpensive to pass up). That said, the rest of the RB fleet is equipped with manual transmissions. My favorite gearbox is the Getrag found in my 318ti Club Sport. I fitted UUC Motorwerks pedal bushings, their adjustable clutch stop, and an RK II shift knob. It's just about perfect. The Wrangler's five speed is Pure Truck- long throws with notchy engagements. It reminds me of the F600 dump trucks I drove during my summer job during college. Fun in a crude sort of way. As for the Mazdaspeed, the shift gates are uneven and the clutch engagement is much too abrupt. Oh well, an exasperating transmission for an exasperating car...

When I turn 15 in August, one of my main goals is that I learn how to drive a manual. My mom says she used to love the cars she owned that were manuals, and she said she'll teach me. Can't wait. (:

I've only owned manuals, and they were far from being the best out there ('86 Volvo 740 Turbo Wagon, '92 Saab 9000S, '87 BMW 325is, '96 Saab 900 Turbo) but they're just so much better to drive than my brothers or sisters automatics.

I also second the notion that DSG boxes will slowly kill off AUTOMATICS, not true manuals, there will always be a calling for them.

Amen. I don't care that the PDK is faster in a straight line or faster around the 'Ring than my "old school" 6 speed Carrera S. What I do care about is the challenge and inherent joy in executing perfect upshifts and heel/toe, rev-matched downshifts.

I wouldn't mind one of these excellent "floppy gear boxes" for a daily driver but I'll keep a proper manual for my sports car, thank you.

Wow, that's a really nice pic ed. Suits the car's niche real well.

I agree to what wasaabi92 said.
the day that manuals disappear will b the day the cars fly. Oh wait, that day's already here.

Manuals are dead. Very difficult to find any car in a manual unless it's absolutely a base model economy car with no options at all, like hand crank roll up windows.

Truthfully I've long outgrown manuals. In the real world of 9 to 5 traffic slogging, and running errands manuals are about as much fun as a colonic. The new dual clutch automated manuals are the best of all worlds, an automatic for the daily crap, and a manual for the rare time (in a major cities at least) you don't have to deal with traffic and can open it up. Plus your hands should be on the steering wheel at all times, not shifting. Plus if performance is what you're after, the dual clutch systems perform better than traditional manuals.. I just don't understand this "oneness" you talk about by pressing down on a clutch pedal. How is that any more involving than controlling a performance car with paddle shifters while being able to keep your hands on the wheel at all times? It's not, it's all in your heads.

I give it 10 years before manual transmissions are gone in this country. Technology moves on, you people are a bunch of dinosaurs and you're about to become extinct.

If all you drive a car for is "9-5 traffic slogging" and "running errands", then don't get a manual. Its not just "pressing down on a clutch pedal", its a lot more than that, but you seem to have your mind set and I'm a dinosaur.

dgs4,
You sound like a high performance driving expert! Please share more of your expertise. And while you are at it, let us know what torrid hunk of driving excitement you tool around in. And one more thing, what AARP chapter do you belong to?

"I just don't understand this "oneness" you talk about by pressing down on a clutch pedal. How is that any more involving than controlling a performance car with paddle shifters while being able to keep your hands on the wheel at all times? It's not, it's all in your heads."

Sometimes I read a comment on this site, shake my head and think I'll never hear something stupider....then I log on the next day and read the above comment.

I'd gladly sacrifice a bit of speed to have a manual over a paddle arrangement. Its a shame the industry is moving away for the sake of 0-60 and lap times. Technology is not always a good thing, especially when it further removes you from the driving experience.

Also, if I sat in traffic all day I'd definitely want an automatic. I am lucky enough to do mostly light traffic highway driving, mixed with rural and a little bit of in city. I rarely regret my manual.

I agree - I don't care if automatics or DSGs are slightly faster than a regular manual - I want the manual. It's just more fun.

I'm glad that the two cars I'm most interested in purchasing next, the G8 GXP, and the CTS-V, both offer traditional manuals in addition to automatics, even though the automatic versions are faster.

Remember when automatics used to be MUCH slower than manuals? It's amazing the transformation.

"I'd gladly sacrifice a bit of speed to have a manual over a paddle arrangement. Its a shame the industry is moving away for the sake of 0-60 and lap times. Technology is not always a good thing, especially when it further removes you from the driving experience."

Agreed; the dumbing down of the American driving public continues. I think that the typical US car buyer just doesn't want to think- or drive, for that matter. I still can't believe it when some brain-dead imbecile posts a comment such as, "I can't buy a RWD car, because I need to be able to drive it in the rain."

I hate to say it, but I completely agree with dgs4. I, too, had only driven manuals since I turned 16 (I'm 34 now) and spouted off just like you guys are doing..."manuals or die!"...but, then the DSG was taken out of race cars and handed down to us mere mortals and I have to admit that I might have been wrong; you CAN have your cake and eat it too. Super quick gear changes, blistering acceleration, both hands firmly gripping the steering wheel while blasting in and out of corners, oh and yeah, I can sit in stop and go traffic too.

Anyway, I understand the fun of a manaul (some of my favorites were my 01 330i, 92 318is, 07 Civic Si & 96 Prelude SiVTEC), but until you guys try out a well made dual clutch automated manual, I would hold off on saying all would be lost if manuals went the way of the dodo bird.

I tried the VW GTI's DSG. It's a great automatic but still just an automatic. I put the car in D and point the car. Sure, I can press a button to to change gears and those gears changes are quick and precise. That's not all I'm after.
I think of it this way. Would you EVER drive a Viper with an automatic? If the answer is no, the underlying reasons behind the decision probably propel you to buy a manual in other lesser performing cars. If the answer is yes or who cares about the Viper, then just get the automatic and realize that some people disagree with you.

pat1usmc,
I would 100% drive a Viper with a dual clutch, no doubt about it; but, not with a true automatic.

And I don't "disagree with you." Manuals are great fun and I still enjoy them; but, put them side by side with the DSG; and the DSG wins hands down. And I know you know this, but the DSG is not an "automatic"...it is an automated manual. It does not have a torque converter and is truly a manual transmission without the 3rd pedal for the driver. And yes, the DSG in the GTI is slick; but the problem with the GTI is that its front wheel drive, not the transmission.

In the fall 09, the S4 is coming out with the new 7 speed DSG (or S tronic) with quattro and I can't wait to try that puppy out. Like dgs4 said, "technology moves on."

I'm not doubting that the DSG will "win" in the performance category. I just prefer to drive a car with a stick and clutch I guess. I chose to buy my old crappy Elantra with a manual back in the day. (Now the new Elantras aren't so crappy!)It wasn't for the performance factor at all.

Now when I drive my wife's Genesis, I fully enjoy the automatic! I can just sit back and relax.

Well, I'm sure I'll buy a car fitted with DSG someday...
For my wife.

Your wife digs F1 racing, eh? Sweet! She's a keeper! Too bad her husband is so old school...

I prefer the visceral quick shift to any 0-60 time.

But I also prefer homemade food to prefab food, walking to a segway, and actual exercise to electric exercise. Are the results the same? Sure. But I'm more of a means kinda guy than an ends kinda guy.

"Too bad her husband is so old school..."

Come out to a CCA HPDE and we'll REALLY see who is old school...

dude, seriously. did you really just write that??

Ummmm....dgs4? You were the guy i was talking about when i said no one realizes that only Americans prefer automatics.
"Very difficult to find any car in a manual unless it's absolutely a base model economy car with no options at all, like hand crank roll up windows."
Ok....how about the rest of the world where upwards of 70 percent of cars are manuals? In other countries, people usually prefer driving when they're driving their car, not talking on their cellphones, eating donuts, or changing their clothes.

i think part of the fun too, is downshifting and rev-matching. any opinions on the 370z's self revmatching 6speed manual? good compromise or already too much taken from the driver?