Porsche admits manual gearbox could die

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Porsche admits manual gearbox could die

Post by Standardshifter »

Popularity of Porsche’s PDK auto transmission puts the clutch pedal on notice.

"“As far as I know the take-up rates of the PDK in the 911 is up to 80 percent and in the Boxster and Cayman it is around 60-70 percent. And it is increasing. Maybe someday the question will come whether we need a manual gearbox anymore."

"One potential saviour for the manual gearbox could be the United States market. While Americans generally prefer automatics, most Porsche sports cars sold in the States have a manual gearbox."

http://smh.drive.com.au/motor-news/pors ... 2efl8.html
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Re: Porsche admits manual gearbox could die

Post by six »

That's pretty bad news...

I find it pretty funny whenever an article about this topic comes up, it always mentions that the American market would halt the demise of the manual transmission, because so many Americans buy manuals. How did this come to be? I thought we were the worst market?
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Re: Porsche admits manual gearbox could die

Post by Shadow »

First they come out with the very first 7-speed manual transmission and now they're saying the manual transmission might go the way of the dinosaurs?

Porsche, say it ain't so.... :lol:
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Re: Porsche admits manual gearbox could die

Post by Squint »

six wrote:That's pretty bad news...

I find it pretty funny whenever an article about this topic comes up, it always mentions that the American market would halt the demise of the manual transmission, because so many Americans buy manuals. How did this come to be? I thought we were the worst market?
My assumption is worst market for every day driver manuals. But in the sports market, I think we prefer manuals. The people that legitimately want sports cars probably also prefer controlling them that much more.

But in the cheap-o every day drivers, I think manuals are far more common elsewhere.
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Re: Porsche admits manual gearbox could die

Post by tankinbeans »

The hands of the average Joe are usually occupied with his phone, a big gulp, makeup, or any number of other things. He can't be bothered to wait until he can sit down for 10 minutes to take care of his extra curriculars. Driving is a chore to the always on 24/7 crowd; you can't slow down for more than 2 seconds to catch a breath, and having to think about shifting is too much to ask for.
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Re: Porsche admits manual gearbox could die

Post by theholycow »

tankinbeans wrote:Driving is a chore to the always on 24/7 crowd; you can't slow down for more than 2 seconds to catch a breath, and having to think about shifting is too much to ask for.
This is it. To so many people, driving is an annoyance that stands between them and their destination. They just want to get it over with, with a minimal amount of fuss. Sure, they may occasionally get an itch to enjoy something about driving, but day in and day out it's just a chore. I can imagine feeling that way if I had an average commute full of traffic jams.

There are also people for whom eating is like that. They eat because if they don't eat they'll die, not because they love food and really want to enjoy eating. My dad is like that, eating is a necessary annoyance for him, and he described it as "I eat to live, I don't live to eat." Not me...and not potownrob.
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Re: Porsche admits manual gearbox could die

Post by Rope-Pusher »

tankinbeans wrote:The hands of the average Joe are usually occupied with his phone, a big gulp,
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makeup,

or any number of other things.
Not true, they have some guy named Andre' who applies the makeup for them
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