MOTORHUB MAGAZINE
IS THE MANUAL TRANSMISSION DOOMED?
F
shifting trends
ewer cars should be available with a manual transmission. The public have spoken, and they want to use their
left hand and leg less frequently.
The rise of automatic transmissions that relay code quicker
than humans can send directives from brain to limb – and ones
that know their engine partner more intimately than you or I
ever could and can therefore be more efficient – means having
a third pedal is simply redundant.
This sort of logical argument doesn’t exist in the minds of car
enthusiasts with an old-school love of manual gearboxes. But
before you go dousing me in transmission oil, hold up: I’m with
you; I’m one of you. But I also know that history dictates that
the slow death of the manual needs to continue. In the 1990s
and early 2000s, power was king. Manufacturers kept throwing
more kilowatts at cars that were getting increasingly larger and
heavier.
Do you see where I’m going with this? The manual needs to be
on death’s doorstep before it can be rescued. By the time so few
are available, it will be up to the inspired, innovative manufacturers to capitalise on them.
All the traditional advantages of a manual transmission are no
longer applicable. With continuously variable transmissions
(CVT ) - which are basically a rubber band, belt or a chain
that seamlessly changes ratios but irritatingly keep the revs
high while the speed climbs, automatics can enjoy good fuel-economy, and dual-clutch transmissions give precise control and lightning quick shifts, usually associated with manual
transmissions. Thanks to these more advanced transmissions,
manual-equipped cars are hard to find, and are selling in increasingly small numbers.
We have made our way from 1 speed, 2 speed, 3 speed, 4 speed,
5 speed all the way through to 6 speed, with it now being the
norm for automatic transmissions nowadays. We have automatic transmissions with 7 speeds and a torque convertor. We
have them with 7 speeds and a dual clutch gearbox (DSG). We
have 7 speeds without a torque convertor but with a computer-controlled wet clutch (by Mercedes in its AMG SL63 model).
Of course, all these extra gears in an automatic would mean an
end of an era is coming soon. The traditional manual stick shift
gearbox with a clutch will be replaced by the automatic due to
the rising number of gears feasible in an automatic, the ultimate pursuit for smoothness in shifting, fuel and performance
efficiency and also emissions control. Even if car manufacturers make a 10 speed manual transmission for a supercar, the
revs climb so fast until you’d hit the rev limiter so quickly that
you’ll be trying to change gears more than you have the time to
clutch or de-clutch or row through those gears.
And that is why we will then have automated clutches with
flappy pedals behind the steering to change gears in a manual;
or something supposedly manual but with an electronic motor
or solenoid replacing the need for your left foot to do all the
clutch work for you. Thus, the basic manual will be dead pretty
soon in all but the cheapest and most basic mean ́