DGS49
Diamond Member
I have been a faithful reader of car magazines, and a driver of high-performance cars for decades (subscribed to Car & Driver while I was in Vietnam in 1969), and there is a Thing going on right now that find quite disturbing.
All the high end sports cars are coming now almost exclusively with automatic transmissions. Of course they try like hell not to describe them as "automatic transmissions," but it is what it is. I'm talking about the top-level Porsches, Mercedes, BMW's, Jag's, and Audi's. Cadillac and Corvette are making 6 and 7 speed sticks available, but they are rarely available at your local store.
The justification appears to be that the latest technology makes today's automatics superior in performance to even what the most skilled drivers could accomplish with a stick.
So what?
If you are owning and driving a sports car, you at least theoretically want to be involved with the process of squeezing out the best performance from the engine, tranny, suspension, brakes, and so forth. With stability control, traction control, ABS, 295mm tires, and now these super-slushboxes, any asshole with a fat wallet can drive a 911 like a maniac without much fear of getting into trouble.
It's reaching the point where fewer and fewer cars will give the driver the experience of using his own skills to maximize the performance of the car. At least Mazda gets it.
My 350Z is a blast to drive, but if someone offered me a trade for the same car with an automatic, I'd rather walk.
All the high end sports cars are coming now almost exclusively with automatic transmissions. Of course they try like hell not to describe them as "automatic transmissions," but it is what it is. I'm talking about the top-level Porsches, Mercedes, BMW's, Jag's, and Audi's. Cadillac and Corvette are making 6 and 7 speed sticks available, but they are rarely available at your local store.
The justification appears to be that the latest technology makes today's automatics superior in performance to even what the most skilled drivers could accomplish with a stick.
So what?
If you are owning and driving a sports car, you at least theoretically want to be involved with the process of squeezing out the best performance from the engine, tranny, suspension, brakes, and so forth. With stability control, traction control, ABS, 295mm tires, and now these super-slushboxes, any asshole with a fat wallet can drive a 911 like a maniac without much fear of getting into trouble.
It's reaching the point where fewer and fewer cars will give the driver the experience of using his own skills to maximize the performance of the car. At least Mazda gets it.
My 350Z is a blast to drive, but if someone offered me a trade for the same car with an automatic, I'd rather walk.