Save the manuals?

I am an avid reader of "car and driver" and recently noticed their campaign called "Save the manuals". "Car and Driver" writers/contributors are concerned that manual transmissions are going away for good and that as drivers we are going to miss not having manuals.

This campaign immediately reminded me of the old schoolers who were complaining about ABS. They were in favor of pumping the brake pedal if more braking power was needed. They even claimed that ABS is not any safer and may cause more accidents. Well now ABS is every where I consider it a must in any modern car.

The idea of modern dual clutch transmissions replacing 5spd or 6spd manual transmission should be welcomed. Dual clutch transmissions bring the best out of both automatic and manual transmissions. They provide fully automatic modes when you are stuck in traffic and give you the ability to engage the gear of your choice in a blink of an eye.

For years I have driven manual car and will chose to do so over conventional automatic transmissions. By conventional automatic transmissions I refer to the torque converter based automatic transmissions. These transmissions not only sap power out of your engine, they also do not provide you with the ability to hold on to a gear when you are in a turn or when you are climbing a hill among many other situations. Depending on the implementation logic, many of these transmissions are focused on fuel economy rather than any driving thrill.

DSG or dual clutch transmissions change that all. It provides you with the ability to :

- Select your own gear and hold on to it as engine is hitting the redline, that is no automatic upshift
- blazing fast gear shifts by using two different clutches to select your next gear while you are in your current gear
- provides comfortable and mostly clunk free automatic mode to get you through the traffic
- blips throttle to match engine revs
- better launch control system (just check Porsche's PDK)
- even provides better fuel economy (sometimes)

So why I would still want to get a manual transmission car if the DSC equipped one provided me with all these features at a negligible price hike beats me. Granted, I will miss the mechanical feel that comes from shifting gears through well spaced shift gates and the satisfaction of being able to rev match on downshifts. In the real world, the benefits of DSGs simply overrun the fun factor of a manual transmission.

So I say, lets embrace the technology like many car manufactures (Lamborghini, Ferrari, Porsche, Audi, VW, BMW to name a few) and welcome DSGs. Many of the modern high performance cars do not even have the option of a manual transmission. DSGs are the future of automobile transmission and they are here to stay. Good bye manual transmission, you will be missed ...

Turbo RWD coupe anyone?

While youtubing (I am sure this will become a verb soon) I stumbled upon a review of the humble Pontiac Solstice GXP coupe. I had kind of forgotten about that car. Initial review of the Solstice (vs the Miata/MX5) had put a bad rep on it. Reviewer pointed out to it's lack of steering feel, ho hum ride quality and so so chassis. GM might have taken those reviews seriously and came up with the Solstice GXP with their gem of an engine, the turbo ecotec 2.0. The recipy is perfect, a simple RWD coupe with solid chassis, suspension and a torquey little 4 banger.

For years, I had craved for a such a car. Pontiac seemed to have hit the nail on the spot. Interestingly, buyers didn't came too much for the GXP and with Pontiac's sudden demise it was killed off.

Looking at the current product line of all major automakers, I don't see a single roadster based turbo car offering. The only two that come close are 1) Hyundai's Genesis 2.0T coupe and 2) BMW's z4 sDrive335IS.

The Genesis is in a different category and although the BMW is a roadster (a bulky one) it's way too expensive. So there is a huge void in this type of sub 3000lb 2 door turbo coupe/roadster with hardtop niche market. Granted the economy has not been favorable for the introduction of such cars.

Given the current emphasis in fuel efficiency and thirst for power, I hope to see more cars like the Pontiac Solstice GXP which cater to customer's like me. Just in case anyone is listening, here is what I am looking for: :D

- sub 3k lb gross weight
- hardtop (retractable or not)
- RWD
- turbo 4 with at least 260ft-lb torque
- 6speed with a long overdrive on 6th
- sub 30k price range
- 7000-7500 rpm redline

It seems Toyota's FT86 is coming to fruition and it meets most of the above criteria. For the time being I will try to stay satisfied with my VQ35HR powered Nissan RWD coupe.