Does anyone actually want an automatic?

[Tdog87]

Never heard this one before. What a truely ridiculous myth.

There have been a few reports of where this has happened and the thieves have had to abandon the car.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...arrassing-discovery-neither-drive-manual.html

https://www.carthrottle.com/post/hapless-car-thieves-thwarted-by-a-manual-gearbox/

https://www.motorious.com/articles/news/it-really-happened-a-stick-shift-thwarted/

https://www.drive.com.au/news/armed-carjackers-thwarted-by-manual-transmission-in-melbourne/

I am not saying that having a manual is a real deterrent to thieves as real thieves going after your car will know how to drive a manual but it is at least a little bit more insurance compared to an auto.

 

[Denver the Last Dinosaur]

Sorry but you’re wrong. It’s been proven Over and over. But to each thier own.

refer to this thread and watch the video

https://www.nissanzclub.com/forum/threads/at-vs-mt-0-60-times.1295/page-2

Nobody ever said a human is faster than a modern automatic at changing gears when you put your foot down, but 0-60 times are completely irrelevant on the road. The Nissan Z is a road car, always has been.

With the exception of sprint / drag racing, 0-60 times are also largely irrelevant in most race driving where the driver needs full control of when to change gears up and down to suit the track corners, hills, etc.

I am not saying that having a manual is a real deterrent to thieves as real thieves going after your car will know how to drive a manual but it is at least a little bit more insurance compared to an auto.

Yep. There's no real data to prove it one way or the other. You could try asking a lower insurance premium for owning a manual car and see what happens.

 

[Denver the Last Dinosaur]

Check out the 3:34 mark in this brief video review (posted by GeelongCats in another topic) ...

Quote: "You can get a 9-speed automatic, but that's just silly in a car like this. Why would you do that."

​

(I was going to trim it down and repost just that section, but I don't have anywhere to upload videos that work here directly, and the 'Insert Video' function does't seem to work.)

 

[fliplover]

Manual for me. No question. I'll wait if the dealer tells me only automatics are available. I want the full driving experience, even if it is a little slower than the AT car.

 

[zwannabe]

auto for sure. i have a daily manual and it's not convenient.

 

[jezzza]

Like the US, automatic transmissions are overall vastly more common here in Australia yet over 70% of Z preorders are for the manual transmission.

I'm curious if the limited Proto allocations will be split 50% AT and MT or the ratio will favour the demand for MT.

Will also be interesting to learn the ratio of orders in other markets.

 

[Kbl911]

They'd be better off with an electric car since it has near-instant full power and no gears at all to worry about.

This point is often made, and it's honestly very accurate, in a narrow sense. In truth, it ignores a few important things, doesn't it?

Like, if someone is shopping for a Z - or just a sports car akin to a Z - in the price category in which the Z is marketed, what comparable electric car is available? I can make it simpler, in fact - how many 2-door, 2-seat electric cars are even in production? Then narrow it to "how many are not ludicrously expensive hyper-exotics?"

It's only a valid argument if we assume that someone shopping for a Z is pursuing this particular style of vehicle by, what, coincidence? I just don't think that a Z buyer is cross shopping it with bulbous electric sedans, you know? So, my point is that someone for whom the acceleration benefit of the automatic is a selling point doesn't have the option of going electric while staying within the same universe with respect to the vehicle category (sub-compact, 2-door, sports car).

 

[petitelisanc]

I was doing my monthly "will I ever get this car" check in at the dealership, and they stressed to me that it's kind of a crap shoot what trim/colors they get allocated. While I understand and am cool will having to perhaps compromise on color I am in no way interested in the automatic transmission.

Much of the appeal of this car for me is the stick. The dealership was trying to soften me up to the idea of getting an auto but I am just not into it. In my opinion, it doesn't fit the car.

Let's say it's 50/50 with the transmission production who is getting the automatic?

I would only prefer an automatic!

 

[jdm-rhd]

as ive stated before, im a manual guy...even my truck is a 6spd. so are both of my fd rx7s, my mkiv supra and my gt86.

that being said, i would like to at least try out paddle shifters. if it's anything as boring as the sport shift/auto in the z4 i owened...then no thanks!

 

[takemorepills]

My 2014 BRZ (bought used) is an automatic. I would have chosen manual, but it kind of fell into my lap at the right time, before COVID took off. The vehicle has been all over the country, next month my son is driving it down to Florida. I enjoy the way it handles, and you'd have a tough time convincing us we don't enjoy driving it, given all the fun we've had driving it. But to each his own, I'd still go manual if having the choice on a Z.

I mentioned final drive ratio earlier, as something to consider depending on usage. For example, the BRZ has a different final drive ratio, depending on if an automatic or manual trans. Here is an example of the different RPM for each at 90mph on the year 2014 model:

Automatic at 90mph = 2923.2 rpm
Manual at 90mph = 3865.68 rpm

I was wondering why some BRZ owners were complaining about engine/exhaust noise on the highway, and realized in part it had to do with the manual trans version spinning 900rpm faster.

I recall Z has a different final drive between auto and manual? I forget how much.

86 are both 6 speeds, so the final drive comparison is interesting.

However, with the Z it'll be 6 speed or 9 speed. No sense in comparing their final drives

 

[Mud]

meh,
I could swing either way.

I've always had manuals. It's a pain in the ass to drive every day in start stop traffic.
I love jumping in my sons automatic BA Falcon ute and just rolling around like a taxi.

However I'm also a giant knob. So manual is better and makes me feel like a real driver and I will always drive manual!

also reduces the likelihood of my cars being pinched by shit breathed teens that cant use a clutch

 

[trackratZ]

Posts like this are very common in sports cars, heck even muscle cars, forums. It's never definitive, what each really 'wants' as their own preferences, really.

Let's throw in another factor, if the Z is avail with a true dual-clutch (DCT, PDK) auto, that might be more game-changer for manual buyers. Sadly the Z only comes with a slushbox, i.e. torque convertor, auto. Down and upshifts will never be as quick as DCT. OTOH the 9 speed is totally fine for a daily driver.

Now, comparing against EVs with their instant torque capabilities are kind of fruitless, EVs will always win on straight line pulls, only few exotics can match. This won't get any better for ICEs in the future, we all know it.

 

[Denver the Last Dinosaur]

So, my point is that someone for whom the acceleration benefit of the automatic is a selling point doesn't have the option of going electric while staying within the same universe with respect to the vehicle category (sub-compact, 2-door, sports car).

For "someone for whom the acceleration" is actually an important buying point should be shopping for cars to go on the track and will largely be gutting it anyway for race modification. That means they can buy whatever cheap car they, or their sponsorship, can afford and then refit it to be electric for the supposed "acceleration benefit". The "bulbous electric sedans" will still out-perform the petrol "sub-compact, 2-door, sports car".

 

[Denver the Last Dinosaur]

if the Z is avail with a true dual-clutch (DCT, PDK) auto, that might be more game-changer for manual buyers.

NEVER!!

 

[morgand]

I'll break the trend, I am an auto buyer.

Whilst I understand the romantic, historic, sports car notion of stick shift, the reality is modern auto's are always faster, including around race tracks.

But then I like my Drama!! Select Gearbox (DSG) in my R32. It's had a tune and you can set the up and down shift points based on road speed, so it's doing everything a person is doing on entry and exit of the corner, including a satisfying throttle blip to rev match.

Today the race cars that are still manual, noting F1 and Indy cars are already automatic transmission, only use the clutch to start and stop, as they just bash through the manual in sequence.

Now if it was a sequential shifter, then maybe the manual would have some slight appeal to me.