Quote:
Originally Posted by Dadhawk
Actually, I don't believe there is a demand. There is a desire greater than 2% perhaps but even if it's twice as much, we are only talking 4% of car sales.
In the end, like a lot of products, there are those that will take it only one way (in this case, only MT or only AT) and there are those that take either,. I think the DEMAND is the 2% we see because you really have to go out of your way any more to get it.
The MT group isn't large enough for a manufacturer to care. They aren't losing sales because they don't have an MT (or if they are its a rounding error). They will lose potential sales if they do not have an AT on the lot, at least at the dealership level.
I'm in the AT/MT agnostic group. I can drive either, I'll buy either, and it really isn't a deciding factor in my car buying. In fact, the ONLY time I've intentionally selected the AT over the MT was with the 86, and that was only after a test drive at the Long Beach 86 event where I drove them back to back. The MT felt like any MT I had ever driven, but the AT was the best one I had ever driven, so I picked the AT.
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My wife has an automatic, but I have two manual transmission vehicles: my BRZ and my Ducati. I despise driving the Q5 for any long period of time, except for the highway. It has body roll. Even in dynamic mode, it is constantly looking for gears. I don't get the appeal, and I couldn't drive an automatic for my daily driver. I would need to be in LA and driving 1-2 hours in bumper to bumper traffic every day to even ponder the idea, so yes, I am that 2% that the transmission is a deal breaker for me, and I agree that for the vast majority of people, there is no preference. Many people settle for the color they don't want, or they trim they don't want, or the transmission. Many people here are perfectly happy with the auto, but they intended on buying a manual transmission. I am guilty of doing the same with a rare hardtop MKIV Supra that I intended to replace with a manual down the road. I'm sure there is more demand for an automatic over a manual transmission than a manual over an automatic just because of the learning curve, and most people are willing to pay the premium for an automatic than learn to drive a manual, but it is also a matter of lack of options. People would settle for a manual transmission just as they would settle for an automatic if a lot was full of manuals, or they were set on a red car, and they had to settle on a manual to get a red car because that is all that the dealer had on the lot.
I guess the question to ask is if the manual transmission rate in other countries is so high, is that because you believe there is large demand for a manual transmission, or do you believe that the supply of manuals is high, so the take is high?
I'm also a used car buyer. I would rather buy a slightly-used, seasoned, proven car from a reliable buyer than buy new car and pay the premium. As such is the case, I don't contribute to the demand for manual transmissions. I have to rely on other buyers to create the demand. As the average car gets more expensive, and as the average buyer of new cars get older, the take rate for manual transmissions will drop that much more. For instance, is it any surprise that the percentage of buyers who chose a manual BRZ was higher than the percentage of buyers who chose a manual C7? Probably not, considering that the average age of the buyers of the Corvette are older. This makes it hard to find a used car that has a manual transmission because the demand is higher for used car buyers who tend to be younger and supply is proportionally less.
https://www.autoblog.com/2019/05/21/...smission-take/
Just to add another factor, this country has lost the sedan and estate car in favor of SUVs and crossovers, which could also have something to do with the fall of the manual transmission. My buddy had a Tacoma with a manual transmission, and it had the longest throws ever. Tall, upright seat-heights don't make for the best manual experiences.