What impact will it have on 6-speed sales that PP is no longer exclusive to manuals?

[TexasRebel]

If it was available, I would have gone auto in my 2015 PP

I think they called that the 50th Anniversary Edition.

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[SpeedLu]

I've never met a manual purist who didn't look down on auto owners and treat them as inferior people, so hopefully it will have a big impact and manuals will disappear completely.

 

[Labradog]

I've never met a manual purist who didn't look down on auto owners and treat them as inferior people, so hopefully it will have a big impact and manuals will disappear completely.

There's definitely those people out there, but there are so many more in this community and in the car community at large that are supportive of each other and just love cars, regardless of transmission. I like my A6 in this car more than I did the manual, but I'd love to own another stick someday. Hope you find some better car people to be around brotha. :cheers:

 

[Ebm]

.

I've never met a manual purist who didn't look down on auto owners and treat them as inferior people, so hopefully it will have a big impact and manuals will disappear completely.

You suck

 

[Zelek]

I've never met a manual purist who didn't look down on auto owners and treat them as inferior people, so hopefully it will have a big impact and manuals will disappear completely.

Back when I was a teenager, you were a little bitch if you drove an automatic sports car. Granted we're talking 1998-2000.

Just sayin'

 

[airfuel]

I've never met a manual purist who didn't look down on auto owners and treat them as inferior people, so hopefully it will have a big impact and manuals will disappear completely.

Really? You want manuals to disappear completely because some people like them and think it is a big part of driving for them? Careful what you wish for.....some people want only electric cars and autonomous driving cars to take over internal combustion engines. (Yes there are assholes around, even in the Mustang community, ignore them)

I really enjoy a manual gearbox on little underpowered cars, where you can rev the life out of the engine. I like autos on fast cars, there is no challenge using a manual when you have so much power.
The manual on the Mustang does have one advantage though, in the UK it is £2,000 cheaper.

The same exact challenges plus more are available on high powered manuals.
Drivers outside the U.S. are more familiar with manuals and I can see the attraction of a good auto. The opposite is true in the land of automatics in the states.

It seems the fine line of real life and internet is getting blurred these days.
I ran across a mustang guy and his friend at my shop one day and started talking Mustangs. I complemented his 2017 and said I was waiting to order the 2018 refresh.
His face got red and he started to blurt out the usual bias of the ugly front end but realized he was talking one on one and not behind a keyboard. He paused and asked, “you like the looks of the new car?”
I said yes and that all the improvements made it worth the wait for me . His friend agreed with me and the Mustang owner relented and admitted the 2018 was nice.

People need to settle down, respect each others choice of cars, trim levels, colors, options and get on with enjoying life instead of being insecure about what they choose.

 

[thill444]

I've never met a manual purist who didn't look down on auto owners and treat them as inferior people, so hopefully it will have a big impact and manuals will disappear completely.

I don't get auto owners who also want manuals to go away because they don't either know how to drive one or don't want to.

There is room for both in the enthusiast market and the fact that Porsche is actually brining manual option back for their enthusiast cars is a welcome sign.

I seriosly doubt Ford or Chevy would drop a manual option from their Mustang/Camaro lines for a long, long, time. If they did they would be losing even more sales in a very competitive sportscar market.

 

[TexasRebel]

I don't get auto owners who also want manuals to go away because they don't either know how to drive one or don't want to.

There is room for both in the enthusiast market and the fact that Porsche is actually brining manual option back for their enthusiast cars is a welcome sign.

I seriosly doubt Ford or Chevy would drop a manual option from their Mustang/Camaro lines for a long, long, time. If they did they would be losing even more sales in a very competitive sportscar market.

That's what we said about pickups, too.

 

[Norm Peterson]

annnnnnnnnd now its Manual vs Auto thread :lol:

It always was.


Norm

 

[Norm Peterson]

I've never met a manual purist who didn't look down on auto owners and treat them as inferior people

That might have been true in the 1960's when most people could at least drive a stick-shift car.

Then again, maybe people have been getting more sensitive over the years since, and it takes less for their feelings to get hurt.


Norm

 

[ApollosWar89]

I seriously doubt Ford or Chevy would drop a manual option from their Mustang/Camaro lines for a long, long, time. If they did they would be losing even more sales in a very competitive sportscar market.

If they both dropped the manual options there wouldn't be a mass exodus from the sales because there aren't really many other options out there. Everything must be weighed from a financial perspective in this case. At some point when developing new manuals and offering that option is has more cost savings by ending it than losing the increasingly smaller minority of manual owners it will no longer be a lucrative decision to make any changes to the manual transmission.

 

[thill444]

If they both dropped the manual options there wouldn't be a mass exodus from the sales because there aren't really many other options out there. Everything must be weighed from a financial perspective in this case. At some point when developing new manuals and offering that option is has more cost savings by ending it than losing the increasingly smaller minority of manual owners it will no longer be a lucrative decision to make any changes to the manual transmission.

I have heard this argument for years, but again, Porsche did a 180. If you are building enthusiast sports car and trying to sell to the masses eliminating the manual option will likely result in lost sales.

But I don't think we are even close to this happening when you consider that Ford is only putting manuals in some of their enthusiast cars like the Focus RS, Shelby GT350, etc.

Neither Ford nor Chevy are designing/manufacturing their own manuals, they use a supplier like Tremec.

Now if Tremec says we will not longer build and sell manual gearboxes I would be concerned.

 

[ApollosWar89]

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/fords-bleak-outlook-worsened-by-outside-factors-2018-01-24

Notable remarks from the earnings call.

"Ford's global profit margin of 5% on the core auto business last year is in the bottom tier of major auto companies and well below the 9% operating margin GM reported through the first three quarters. A company that enjoys a lead in the profitable market for large pickup trucks, Ford is now finding itself on more equal ground with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV when it comes to regional profits."

"Mr. Hackett has outlined a corporate "fitness" plan that aims to cut $14 billion in cumulative costs through 2022. He wants to simplify key areas of the business, from the way vehicles are engineered and built to the number of model combinations available on dealership lots."

Jim Hackett Quote from the call.

"In 2017, we made tremendous progress in laying the foundation for our strategy — smart vehicles for a smart world — from accelerating our connected vehicles plans to expanding our AV and EV work. As we move into 2018, we are intensely focused on improving the operational fitness of our business to deliver strong results while continuing to build toward our vision of the future."

 

[thill444]

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/fords-bleak-outlook-worsened-by-outside-factors-2018-01-24

Notable remarks from the earnings call.

"Ford's global profit margin of 5% on the core auto business last year is in the bottom tier of major auto companies and well below the 9% operating margin GM reported through the first three quarters. A company that enjoys a lead in the profitable market for large pickup trucks, Ford is now finding itself on more equal ground with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV when it comes to regional profits."

"Mr. Hackett has outlined a corporate "fitness" plan that aims to cut $14 billion in cumulative costs through 2022. He wants to simplify key areas of the business, from the way vehicles are engineered and built to the number of model combinations available on dealership lots."

Jim Hackett Quote from the call.

"In 2017, we made tremendous progress in laying the foundation for our strategy — smart vehicles for a smart world — from accelerating our connected vehicles plans to expanding our AV and EV work. As we move into 2018, we are intensely focused on improving the operational fitness of our business to deliver strong results while continuing to build toward our vision of the future."

I guess I am not convinced that eliminating manual transmissions would help with any of that. Now they might decide to eliminate whole model lineups, and some of those cars may have manuals.

I think you will see prices continue to rise like we are seeing with Mustang. It's a noticeable jump from a decetly optioned 2015-2017 Mustang to a 2018 with similar options. Expect the same across all their cars. I know they are not shipping the all new Fiesta ST to the US, so this may be a sign of things to come.

 

[Kevin08]

If they both dropped the manual options there wouldn't be a mass exodus from the sales because there aren't really many other options out there.

Nope, if people want a Manual Mustang and it's not offered - they will shop used. Honestly, I am not looking forward to any Hackettstang in the coming years.

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