End Of The Road For Manual Shifters?

There might be an end to manual gears but not for a very long time. Everything will all be electric [probably] in the far distant future and you'll just push a button to engage your gear...right next to the button for the in car latte.

3 WORDS. . . Never gonna happen.

I see manual operated geared sequential or H pattern transmissions going the way of electronic actuation within 10 years.

Even if we hve flying car. There will still going be offer a manual. But I personally like the manual sequential.

"Cars such as the new Auris, which currently come in manual form, will eventually only be available as autos."

ridiculous. that won't sell.

Will a manual is only jerky because you don't drive one properly. (Unless it is an IS250, I can't even drive that 6speed smoothly).

Please tell me what DSG product you have driven.

This is like saying "why fiddle with manual settings on a SLR camera when you can get perfect pictures with a dummy point and shoot."

because a jerky manual is much more fun to drive, but unless you dont want to drive fast and you just want to relax be comfortable. then i guess an auto is better.

manual is def not fun to drive daily. if u have a weekend car thats cool. paddle shifters all the way.

Toyota isn't exactly know for its wide selection of manual gearboxes (at least in the US as Will loves to mention is the world's largest and in his mind, MOST IMPORTANT market). I am not sure why anyone would really care what Toyota had to say about the future of manuals.

Exactly!
But, if you're crawling everyday in the "commute from hell" and Auto makes sense. (a motor-cycle splitting lanes makes a lot more sense :)

I just bought an A6-2.7 twin-turbo with 6-speed manual.
Its amazing how fast all the other cars that I book-marked have sold, whereas the twin-turbos with Tiptronic are still for sale...........

Wrong. They are also bought by people who love to shift. Love to heal/toe, love to drop a clutch, and love the mechanical connection that a manual transmission offers.

Do I love SMG transmission YES, I can't wait until I can afford a car with an SMG(or dsg.. I could have bought a gti I guess) of some sort, mechanically actuated or electronically.

On the other hand these 'better' shifting automatics are still exactly that. They are rarely made for enthusiasts and are just now catching up to the manual transmission as far as reliability, and efficiency is concerned.

There is a place for 'super auto' transmissions in the future, and I hope they get better and better, but unless they are enthusiast oriented they won't be in my garage....maybe my moms.

I just re-read your post.

"Because whatever Toyota makes will be what floods ALL auto markets..."

Most of your posts are littered with brand bigotry. A term which I am now coining because of the rhetoric spewed by brand bigots all over Autospies. Everyone defends, protects, and argues for brands as though it is there company, there idea's, and there profits.

Is your brand loyalty so thick that you can't form an opinion without your Toyota hardon clouding your logic?

Toyota does not rule the world, they make some of the safest, reliable, and most effeciant cars in the world. Their very successful Lexus subsidiary makes some of the most luxurious cars in the world, and a few rwd drivers cars too.

That being said.
No car company is the end all be all. Lexus/Toyota while it really rubs you out, doesn't really do much for me right now. They used to, the MR2, the IS300(the new styling is not my thing), the Celica GT-Four... you know enthusiast cars. That's my thing.


Josh