Originally Posted by bigbcraig (Post 13726)

Oh, not at all!...

It's quite easy to drive a stick if you care about driving. But, as Myka said, many people will just want the 'sporty look' - so Toyota would sell a lot making a comfortable, automatic version for them - and then have the manual be a more focused driver's car for those who want it (the whole package of tighter bushings and firmer suspension, a more powerful / higher revving / at least quicker-revving engine and 6-speed making it the car for 'real drivers'.)

The more Toyota sells, the longer and cheaper it'll stay on the market fr people like me, who won't buy this straight out of the box but probably 6 years from now.

Originally Posted by Myka (Post 13438)

Upitty? Is this a real saying?

Anyway, the fact remains that most auto drivers just want a sporty car. You can be the exception. Perhaps you have a Gallardo with e-gear and track it every weekend. However, most people who choose the auto want a better interior, stereo, and ride. They don't care about autocross times. Ultimately, that is the type of person toyota cares about because that type of person sees the car, falls in love, and drives off the lot with it -after they put it in drive that is.

Originally Posted by MatadorRacing_F1 (Post 13754)

Think about it this way. If lots of autos were sold, they will be cheaper in the used market. Cheaper for you to buy and swap in a manual gearbox. Would you still want to be stuck with a lower performing car? What mazda did with the RX-8 was stupid and if Toyota did that as well it would be just as retarded.



A manual gearbox will always make for a more fun drive in this type of car (light, engaging, tossable, low power). If we are talking about strictly speed and performance, a modern autobox will always be faster shifting and the driver will be able to focus more on the driving and less on shifting. Why do you think open wheeled race cars... heck most race cars in any series worth a damn, use sequential boxes?

Most high end sports cars today you can't even get in manual.

Originally Posted by MatadorRacing_F1 (Post 13754)

A manual gearbox will always make for a more fun drive in this type of car (light, engaging, tossable, low power). If we are talking about strictly speed and performance, a modern autobox will always be faster shifting and the driver will be able to focus more on the driving and less on shifting. Why do you think open wheeled race cars... heck most race cars in any series worth a damn, use sequential boxes?

Most high end sports cars today you can't even get in manual.

Originally Posted by Jordo! (Post 13005)

Nerves were struck.


Incorrect: I'm bashing him for being a prick -- let's get the story straight here :bellyroll:

Originally Posted by bigbcraig (Post 13841)

This sort of reasoning is lost on me. This isn't a high-end sports car. Even if it was, there will ALWAYS be something faster.

If you're acknowledging that the manual will be more fun (for all the right reasons), why in this car get a more expensive, less rewarding transmission just to be that tick faster? You'll just get blown away by the next slightly more powerful and expensive car.

Originally Posted by MatadorRacing_F1 (Post 13869)

...there is no reason to give the short end of the stick to who ever would want to buy an auto.

Originally Posted by mrtodd (Post 13917)

Seriously, why are so many people so against the FT-86 coming in automatic form, in addition to the manual 6spd?

It won't affect your/my choice on the matter, since I personally prefer a manual either way. If someone else wants to buy a car with a heavier, more complex tranny that has more parasitic drivetrain power loss and more things to go wrong, that's totally fine by me.

PS - on a sidenote: there still are some SWEET modern supercars that ONLY offer manual gearboxes as opposed to those silly flappy paddle variants..

1 - Pagani Zonda F
2 - Ariel Atom (not a super car, but INSANELY fast nonetheless!)
3 - Porsche Carerra GT
4 - Koenigsegg CCX
5 - Ford GT
6 - Corvette ZR1 (some say it's not a supercar, but, meh, who cares)
etc...

Even so, an opposing list would be easier to come up with, and larger. My only point by making this list is that there are still some awesome, expensive cars out there that only offer a manual gearbox. Sure, a proper sequential gearbox can outperform a manual in terms of sheer shifting speed, but when it comes to road cars it's all really about the driving experience - not lap speed. In my humble opinion, for a daily driven road car, a traditional manual gearbox will always give you the most versatile driving experience.

All that being said, I am very glad the FT-86 is coming in a 6spd standard format, yet I would also VERY WARMLY welcome a silly automatic as well. I think it's pretty stupid to completely reject even the idea of having an auto on an inexpensive performance coupe such as the FT-86. Like MatadorRacing_F1 said, adding an auto variant is only going to increase the FT-86's gene pool (if you will), giving me, the end user, more options when it comes to aftermarket modification.




In the end, I completely agree.

Originally Posted by ONE (Post 13958)

I think if Toyota relies only manual transmission for this car, it would obviously create a huge impact on their earnings. No one would buy the damn thing anyways. We're in a world where less and less people even know how to start a standard car. Yes they can learn, but the majority is massive.

The only thing I hope to happen is to see the turbo model/high end model to be standard only. Similar to what they did with the Si and XRS Corolla

Originally Posted by MtnDrvr86 (Post 14370)

Ive said it before, but driving a dual clutch loses its appeal after some time and would end up staying in automatic mode for most of the driving. Its just not as engaging as a manual, no matter how much faster its at shifting or better at rev-matching. Thats where the fun is in driving a manual, being able to do everything yourself, and getting better at. not letting a computer do it for you. of course if they have the rev match feature from the 370z, and is also defeatable, i may consider it.