Thread: Toyota sold out
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Old 09-06-2012, 01:34 PM   #9
denkigrve
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SupraLove View Post
Toyota sold out. Honda never did this. Ever. It's the CARDINAL SIN of car manufacturers.

Putting a slushbox in a sportscar.

I understand, yeah, it's a good auto and that "it feels like DSG" stuff, but it's still a damn auto. DSGs are also auto – any transmission that can shift gears for you is still an automatic transmission. I don't have anything against automatics; I think they're a godsend for parents with smaller children, but here's why I despise them in a sports car: Automatics open up the car to a bunch of people that NEVER will use it to its full capability. Period. The majority of men and women who buy 2 door coupés buy them for looks, not practicality, nor performance. Most enthusiasts will see that just because a car is a coupé, it does not have to have sporting intentions. I see so many Civic coupés on the road (non-Si, of course) that have automatics. But for every 30 coupés I see, I only see ONE with an Si badge on the back. What is this proof of? That most people buying a coupé or convertible just want the look of a sports car, and none of the performance. If it's automatic, all the better.

How does this relate to Toyota selling out? Well, based on the statistics, Toyota simply added a slushbox to the GT86 to get more sales. That is a definite sellout. Honda understood that sports cars are meant to have manual transmissions. Period. None of this DCT nonsense. Nearly no one purchasing a DCT will EVER use it to its full potential. What percent of people track their cars? 4-5%, perhaps? Even then, a skilled MT driver can still beat the crap out of an inexperienced DCT driver on the track. Hell, a skilled MT driver can beat a skilled DCT driver if he tries hard enough.

These are sports cars. Not race cars. Remove the auto. The S2000 never came with a slushbox. Neither did the Si, nor the ITR. Keep it pure and manual. These cars are marketed as a "pure driving experience". Keep the promise. Please.
People that would prefer an automatic shouldn't have to be forced to drive MT. Go read Moto-P's post about the Automatic. It's not your average automatic transmission. It's responsive, and quick. It's built with the pure driving experience in mind, and delivers shifts just like a manual (when in proper sport mode).

MT vs AT is a preference. One is not "better than the other" and boils down one's own personal choice in how they'd choose to drive their car.
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