Foosh

Preferring a manual transmission has NOTHING to do with resistance to change. It is simply about what would you pick if you had a choice, and would you go elsewhere or not purchase the new ME if GM no longer provides that choice.

If you'd read through this thread and the many others every time this subject comes up (which is often), you'd see ready acknowledgement even among manual fans that DCTs and even the best TC automatics are better on all criteria except "fun factor" for some of us. If we don't have a choice, that will be accepted, but lamented.

Vet Interested

When it comes to new cars, manual transmissions are dead! Deal with it.

Movie Muscle

Yes, there is a bucket of threads on this topic. Truth, I came here just to see the poop show that I knew it would be. Now I’ll toss this out there. Of all the people who are die hard manual guys, how many have even driven a performance car with a DCT. Exactly....Yet they profess to their dying day their position. I run a manual Z06 and yes I’ve always preferred manuals but it’s a new era. Until I actually drive a C8 I cannnot say which one I prefer or what I like. You probably have a favorite restaurant, favorite vacation spot, favorite songs..... but guess what? Before that you had another favorite restaurant, spot, song, food etc. I know, I know, how dare I enter such a thread with a logical and pointed approach. We don’t know what we like until we experience it. We just know we like what we have and have experienced to this point. Have we all not tried or eaten something we protested only to love it after experiencing it for the first time?....

ssidekickbp

THANK YOU.

It's not about what's " better " or the " future".
I just plain enjoy driving the car with a manual.

If GM doesn't consider that a sellable option of the Corvette anymore, that's fine, but I'll be looking elsewhere, even if I keep my manual C7.

Nobody on this forum will convince me otherwise. Sorry for not wanting ANY type of auto on my Corvette.

Foosh

You've obviously did not read this thread. I've had 2 DCTs, and 1 ZF8 high performance cars in the 8 years preceding my C7 purchases. I came back to C7 because I was bored not having a manual, and I've been having more fun ever since.

ChuckC

For 2019 there are 40 different cars that come with a manual transmission.

https://www.caranddriver.com/feature...smission-cars/

BEAR-AvHistory

But which would you choose if the C8 is DCT? Pickings look quite slim among the 40.

jefnvk

I liked the solid rear axle on my 2012 Mustang. Why shouldn't I still be able to option those on muscle cars? Flip up headlights are another Corvette specific one, why is that not a line item option?

Manuals lived for so long because they had objective performance benefits to the autos. Those objective benefits disappear, and furthermore are obsoleted by DCT. Whether the subjective advantages (people prefering them for whatever joy-inducing reason) are enough to keep them alive, I don't think anyone here can say. I personally don't think it will be, but I dearly hope I am wrong.

And to argue the other side of the coin, my beloved manual Fusion bit the dust Thursday, and once I manged to convince myself I didn't actually want a truck to replace it this morning, my buying list was shortened to only those vehicles with three pedals, because I am largely one of those people.

That said, if anything I was looking at were offered with true DCT (not just a traditional auto with paddles), I really dunno which I would have gone with. PROBABLY the manual, but I don't think DCT only would have been a killer if everything else checked out.

64drvr

911 GT3
Camaro ZL1/1LE
Mustang GT350/R
BMW M cars
Challenger Hellcat
Golf R
Cayman


Or any of the awesome legacy used cars:
Ford GT 05-06
Viper/ACR
Corvette
997 GT3/RS
GT4
991 911R
Audi R8
Testarossa
CTS-V
WRX STI
F430
Diablo
Murcielago
...just to name a few.

jefnvk

Are a lot of people REALLY cross shopping $300k+ Ford GTs with $80k Corvettes? If my choices are a Ford GT or a traditional manual C8, sorry Corvette.

Not to mention I know you specified Hellcat, but the Demon is yet another example where manuals have fallen by the wayside.

64drvr

The Demon is specialized for 1/4 mile drag strips, one of the few situations where a torque-converter automatic makes sense.

Vet Interested

And chances are good when the C8 comes out it will not be one of them.

jefnvk

I will quote you in response:

BEAR-AvHistory

Forget the legacy cars as you can go back as far as you want I once had a nice '62 409 4MT. Talking about new cars.

On the list for comparables in average StingRay pricing you have Camaro, Mustang, Some M cars 2/3/4, Cayman & Boxster. Don't really see someone with C8 money buying a Golf instead. The M car MT's are slowly disappearing. You want a true two seater its Cayman & Boxster from your list.

Rapid Fred

As this thread continues to grow, with the same arguments we've seen dozens of times before (and has a SINGLE mind ever been changed?) the answer to the OP is, Chevy probably is NOT making a mistake IF they offer no manual in the C8.

We are an enthusiast bunch that probably has a higher proportion of manual tranny lovers than the general population of new Vette customers. And, even with that I don't see that many folks on this site swearing off the C8 if no manual is available. I am sure the marketing mavens have done their homework. My bet (and yes, I don't KNOW anymore than any of you) is that they expect more captures from a DCT than defections from no manual. I would also bet that they believe the total number of lost manual-only buyers is simply too small to go through the expense of desigining and qualifying a manual tranny in the C8. If that is correct, they will market DCT as the way forward, providing discerning Vette buyers with only the very best transmission one could buy. And, the voices of the thrilled will drown out those who are disappointed.

There is precedent. They did not offer a manual in the played out C3 in 1982 and sold 25K of them. 88% of the 51K 1984's they sold were automatic as well. I love my manual C7, and am open-minded about a DCT, so I'm set either way. I think most of us are

Movie Muscle

That is your ownership experience and that of some of the others. I’ll still wager on the majority not having much comparative experience. You are obviously very pationate about your stance. People’s definition of fun experiences vary. For some fun will require winning and for some, they are happy just to play non competitive weekend baseball. Drivers will all define their experiences and opinions differently. However available options will always be based on what the majority desires. Forcing people to make alternate choices. I loved my old 1974 Stingray. Never forgot it, thought it was awesome when I owned it. However compared to today’s cars it would pale if I drove it again. I would realize how noisey it was and how bad it rattledetc. Both different experiences, however nobody makes a car like that 74 anymore. Porsche make keep a manual model for the nastalgia of it for a while. Reality is, certain generations will pass and with it the manual transmission. Generations are changing and with it the available choices. This thread may have been about choices but I see most arguing over dct and manuals. Along with a bunch saying they just won’t buy the ME auto.

Foosh

911 new, but there are also plenty of legacy choices.

I can't speak for others, but I don't participate in these discussions to try to change minds. I don't care if zero minds are changed. I participate because it's an interesting discussion every time we have it, and to counter when others distort facts or make false statements.

It is probably too strong to declare that GM would be making a "mistake" by not offering a manual option. However, it is undeniable they will be giving up some sales. Yes, it is likely a DCT-equipped ME will attract a new sales demographic (1st time Corvette buyers). BUT, if it were cost-effective to also offer a manual option, they would sell more cars. The combination of new, and retention of traditional, purchasers would net more sales than in a DCT-only world.

Is it a "mistake" to give up those sales? I suppose that depends upon your perspective. The car will likely be successful without the defectors like me, but it also likely would be more successful in terms of sales if both options were available. BMW, Porsche, and few others have found that to be true, at least for a few more years.

GM marketing can't possibly know how many sales they are losing until it's on the market. BMW, Porsche, and Jaguar all decided that deleting a manual option would result in few lost sales, only to bring them back or introduce them later (Jaguar F-Type). They misjudged, and they have great marketing folks too.

I've said all along, I think that GM understands this, and if there is no manual, it would be because the option has been deemed to be either not cost effective or there isn't a good manual solution for the current design at present. That's difficult for me to believe since Porsche does it in both 911 and Boxster/Cayman.

GM may have decided to test the waters without, with a Plan B to bring it back later, exactly as their competition has done, if the blowback becomes undesirable. That's most likely to happen sometime around MY3-4, when the traditional sales decline begins on new Corvette models as has been the case with every recent generation.

Warp Factor

Not offering a manual might actually be a marketing advantage. Look at it this way. If GM offers the C8 with a manual, sooner or later this manual version will be tested against a competitor with a DCT by some publisher or another, and the manual Corvette will suffer a performance disadvantage.

RFBHD

Probably the most sensible post I have ever read on the topic!!!!! I love my A8..... but thinking about the Hurst shifter in my 68 Z28 brings back fond memories ..... yes should have kept that car!!!!

UsernameProtected

Well, GM's has indicated a desire to bring younger buyers to Corvettes, so in addition to no manual transmission, they should also make it self-driving, so millennials can text and drink $5 cups of coffee without the hassle of driving to/from mom & dad's basement, to the local Starbucks.