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

I drove without stepping on the imaginary clutch for about 3 weeks after getting an auto. Then for some reason as I was leaving work one day, I did my left foot brake stomp. Kinda strange since I didn’t do it for 3 weeks in a row. I haven’t done it again since.

Norm Peterson said:

There's a flip side to that. People who buy cars with automatic transmissions are more likely to be dissatisfied with a firm ride that they weren't fully expecting. That may change, but I doubt we're there yet.


Norm

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Yes, and that’s another revenue increasing possibility when that kind of customer trades his firm riding auto PP for a non-PP auto GT. Customer ends up buying 2 new cars instead of 1 in a relatively short period of time.

In an ideal world, maybe. But I wouldn't assume any dissatisfied auto PP buyer would continue to shop at Ford immediately following that sort of disappointment. Or have good things to say about his initial experience to his friends, family, and neighbors.


Norm

I test drove the 2018 gt with auto / active exhaust this last weekend and the transmission was very fun and smooth in sport mode. The down shifts and engine braking were on point and extremely satisfying. The sound going up and down through the gears was amazing with the exhaust set to track mode. I have been driving a six speed auto with paddles for the last five years and it can’t compare as it has no rev matching.

I also drove the 10 speed ecoboost and while the transmission was just as smooth, there was simply no comparison to the GT. It felt slow and way too quiet.

Norm Peterson said:

In an ideal world, maybe. But I wouldn't assume any dissatisfied auto PP buyer would continue to shop at Ford immediately following that sort of disappointment. Or have good things to say about his initial experience to his friends, family, and neighbors.


Norm

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Yes a whole lot of maybes, not that it’s likely that a GT owner will buy a cartoonish Camaro or Challenger. And a overly firm ride in an otherwise great car doesn’t always kill owner satisfaction (maybe/assumption), it’s just a undesirable trait to some (another maybe/assumption).

I happen to be a gen6 GT (actual) owner that did my research. My non-PP Premium GT auto has comfy suspension and grippy summer OEM tires on OEM 20’s, an intentional config with nice Euro ride/handling combo.

None of this changes the likely scenario of auto PP option adding incremental revenue/profit for Ford in 2018. Smart business decision.

Simple supply and demand. Most people can't drive or don't want to drive a manual. They made the decision for PP with Auto. They sell more Mustangs now because most people are looking for an auto.

Personally, I prefer a manual in anything outside of an suv or truck. If it has 4x4, I definitely prefer an auto aka a slushbox. I will probably always refer to autos as dog-o-matics or slushboxes because it's a funny stigma and it gets under people's skin. In all reality, the new autos are really good and really fast. 10 speeds from GM and Ford, DSG from VAG. Good stuff.

Dory said:

The down shifts and engine braking were on point and extremely satisfying. The sound going up and down through the gears was amazing with the exhaust set to track mode.

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This much I absolutely believe to be true, having watched the video of a 10A-equipped 2017 ZL1. It's probably the only AT soundtrack I've heard that wasn't an immediately obvious giveaway that it's an AT. I hope for the Mustang enthusiasts' sake that the same holds true for the Mustang's version.




Norm

Jesus H. Christo!!!! That's scary just watching the video!!!

On the edge all the way. The lack of fear is amazing, pro drivers aren't normal.

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I am a new owner who waited until the auto was available with PP. I have 2 manual vehicles (2 wheels) so my car is usually an auto.

Came form a 14 C7 with an a6. Worst auto in a sports car i ever used. The a10 is different than other autos that I have had (mostly german and mostly a6 DCT types) but I like it.

Ford is definitely going to sell a lot more mustangs with this option and I cannot see how it wont decrease manual orders. It will attract more buyers that may have not went Ford otherwise, and it will probably convert people who may still have went mustang pp with a manual but want something different.

unload said:

... and it will probably convert people who may still have went mustang pp with a manual but want something different.

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People who would have gone MT/PP in the past that jump ship to the AT are most likely to be those who are interested in the PP more than they were in the transmission type. I don't think you'll see nearly as many people who were MT first, PP second defecting.


Norm

DrGrabster said:

Mike Hawthorn liked Automatics.
12 weeks after this came out he was dead, having crashed his manual Jag on the A3
You can enlarge the page here (It's a good read from 60 years ago by the World Champ)

https://www.autocar.co.uk/sites/aut...reviews/first-drives/legacy/backpage27thb.jpg

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That reads like the script from every automotive film put out from 1930 to 1960.

[ame]
[ame]

Irrational "Ford or Nothing" folks shouldn't watch the next one...

[ame]

DrGrabster said:

Mike Hawthorn liked Automatics.
12 weeks after this came out he was dead, having crashed his manual Jag on the A3
You can enlarge the page here (It's a good read from 60 years ago by the World Champ)

https://www.autocar.co.uk/sites/aut...reviews/first-drives/legacy/backpage27thb.jpg

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I have no problem with him preferring an AT for his reasons, but that's not enough for me to make somebody else's preferences mine no matter who is pitching it.

I don't exactly agree that a "greater margin of safety" follows from the lesser amount of effort involved in driving an AT-equipped car. Could well be that situational awareness takes a hit by not having to be mentally dragged back to the nitty-gritty details of physically operating a car on a more frequent basis.

Nor am I a fan of "down-changing through the accelerator". That's a nonlinearity I know I don't want to have to deal with (I find it irritating even when I'm only riding in an AT car that somebody else is driving). It means that some combinations of throttle and gear have been made unavailable, and that certain assumptions have been made about the way the car should behave that don't necessarily line up with the way I might drive it.

There is fun to be had in driving, at least if you're willing to look for it. Here, maybe it's the matter of getting your shifting right for the situation at hand (almost) all of the time.

Keep in mind that Mr. Hawthorne is looking at this through 29 year old eyes and I think some youthful enchantment with the idea of designing machines to do what had previously been the human's job is still shining through. The 1950's and well into the 1960's was an era where at least over here in the States an absolutely minimal level of physical effort required to operate any of a car's controls was considered good design. I remember asking my own Dad with some eager anticipation if one of the cars he'd just bought was an automatic. That would have been about the time that Autocar article hit the newsstands and I'd have been about 11.


Norm

It would make it easier for me with my knee replacement and 3 bad discs to drive one daily. I would hope it does not hurt the manual sales though.

Rickycardo said:

I wouldn't call F1 technology lazy. :cheers:

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True, but I also wouldn't call the paddle-shifters on any sub $200k car "F1 technology". ALL of the paddle shifters that I have tried (MB, BMW, Mazda, Acura, Mitsubishi), the shifts made me feel disconnected when I tried to manually shift.

I am sure that the paddles on a Ferrari will be bit more "responsive" than the ones in Hondas and Fords though... But then again, if I could afford Ferrari's then I wouldn't be buying a Mustang with an Auto...

I'd be buying a GT500 with MT!

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