Manual Transmissions
I read today that BMW is fazing out all manual transmissions. BMW says you can still get the M2, 3,4 and Z4 with a manual (for now). My guess that manuals will go the way of the Dodo bird soon.
Will be a sad day for our sons whem manuals are no longer available except for
the used market. All 3 of them learned to drive manuals as soon as they got their driver's licence and all of them have owned or still own a manual. That is all they want to drive. Our last couple of cars have the paddle shifters, kinda fun but definitely...
If you live in USA...
If you live in USA, Cadillac is probably the only company selling a manual transmission car with a V8 in the entire country! Cadillac Ct5 Blackwing!
My experience is 100% the contrary. Been a perfect car so far.
I owned a 2022 M4 Competition xDrive before the Blackwing. The BMW is utterly sterile and boring to drive in comparison. I loved the coupe, but for me the car is an extra and purchased for my driving enjoyment. There is just no comparison whatsoever as to...
Please message if you have any questions. I can't speak highly enough of the Tremec manual transmission.
Way, way better than what BMW has used in recent years (I have driven 2 recent BMW manuals, they are rubbery and non-precise to me). If you want an automatic, definitely easier to get. But if you like to row, this is the beast to do it in!
I find no performance car is "reliable."
Even Porsche is far from what I would consider to be reliable. As for the one Blackwing engine failure you're probably thinking about - keep in mind, that was probably a press car that was hammered and abused by big editors, then put into some magazine's ...
Don't forget the LT4 is also Supercharged :-) And the smaller Blackwing offers the 6MT in a twin turbo V6.
Also very fun to drive, in fact many prefer the extra nimbleness of the smaller and lighter car to the V8 powered CT5-V Blackwing. Not me, but the CT4-V Blackwing is an exceptional machine. And you can now buy them in the 50s if you get them preowned with...
Best anti-theft mechanism today is a stick shift, as only a fraction of drivers (dodo birds) can manage it
Manuals accounted for just 1.7% of total new vehicle sales in the US in 2022. Manual vehicles make up 3.7% of the total registered vehicles in America (8 million versus 202 million) New Mexico is highest at abouty 6%, Illinois lowest about 2%. Roughly 50%...
For comparison, the take rate on the manual Cadillac Blackwings is a healthy 50%
That is the essence of the rage behind these glorious machines. Certainly, they are well designed and tuned for track racing, but it is the inclusion of the manual transmission that has purists like myself in nirvana. Every time I drive that car I smile. ...