Why is it some folks just have to have a standard transmission?? Now if I was a rich guy and only drove the car once a week, yea a manual transmission would be fun. But using the car as a grocery getter, going to work how could a manual transmission be fun?? I've gone into Houston before and have got tired of letting on and off the brake peddle, much less get into an hour or longer traffic jam having to keep jacking with the clutch.


I know it's just everyone's preference, but I'm just curious why a manual transmission is a deal breaker for this car??

I hate ATs with a passion. You have much more control over the car with a MT. When I want to downshift or upshift, I downshift or upshift the son-of-a-bitch, not waiting on some computer to decide when to downshift or upshifting when I don't want it to. Also MTs are much more efficient (at least as far as conventional ATs are concerned like the G8s). This means, given the same gear ratios and final drive, you will put more power down and get better gas mileage with the MT (generally speaking). As far as convential ATs are concerned, this also means the MT will be faster.

However, if I lived in Houston where I was stuck in an hour of traffic every day, I would strongly reconsider (been there done that).

I like the amount of control it offers as well as the the fact the gearing on the AT and the MT is different. You get longer gears in the MT :D

Get the heck out of Houston and come drive on my winding Ozark mountain roads -- you'll understand. :)

AT equipped cars tend to make me fidgety because there is nothing to do except point that sucker. They are also faster for me, because I rarely rush a manual gbox. I care not.

MT cars on the other hand, are fun because it is a constant challenge to get one's shifts perfect - at least for my skill level. The sounds can be pretty cool too, especially with a well matched downshift or two under braking.

I think it is the "In 100% control". I don't like when the transmision thinks it knows beter than me what gear I should be in. Plus it is a lot less boring to drive with a manual.

Yeah, I'm puzzled by the complaints from those who measure split second delays with the A6 in downshifting times from very low coasting speeds to WOT. Those of us who drive sticks learn to think ahead and plan downshifts before a curve, or before some wise a$$ tries to beat you across an intersection to cut in before the road merges him out. That's second nature to us M6 jockeys. Drive with one eye on the rear view mirror, and think ahead. That's part of the fun of driving a stick. If you go from 5mph to WOT, there has to be some "cushion" to keep nearly 400 lb/ft of torque from shearing clutch plates, and giving the TC time to soak up some RPM. That A6 is a lot faster downshifting than double-clutching from 4th to 2nd.

It's nothing but nostaglia to me! It's like having to have a Harley, just because it's a Harley. With all the speeds now, and the way they work like manuals, why have the hassle of a clutch???????? This is 6, Mercedes have 7, and Lexus' ISF has an 8-speed!

I guess I don't get it:confused:

Every time I get behind the wheel of every auto, I feel like in control to a point. And that meaning, I'm never fully in control. A tire could blow out, a small child could come darting out from between a couple parked cars.. I mean none of us are ever really in control of our cars. I'm a very defensive driver and take my driving VERY seriously. And in a car that will hit 0-60 in 5.5 seconds and will break from 60-0 in 109 feet, pull 0.85-g on the skidpad, not mention will zip through the slalom at around 65 mph.

I do believe this is one of the finest auto's that anyone can purchase new for $30g's..

I'm not tryin to start a pissin contest, but like I said, I guess I don't get it :patriot::gears::burnout:

M6 to me is just a personal thing. Can't really explain it. Has nothing to do with 1/4 mile times, proper gear for the corner, less weight, more efficient, it's just about the driving experience. The only auto I would consider would be a 6/7 speed DSG with paddles.

Personal preference or as my wife calls it, the "Fun" factor

M6 to me is just a personal thing. Can't really explain it. Has nothing to do with 1/4 mile times, proper gear for the corner, less weight, more efficient, it's just about the driving experience.

Well said. It's an intangible of sorts.

The only gripe I've heard about the A6 is that there is a slight lag before the transmission downshifts (or the C&D "experts" who griped about harsh shifts). Well, I'm pretty good with an M6, but there is a slight lag there while I double-clutch down a gear or two. I've driven nothing but sticks now since '75 (wife's car doesn't count), and my personal cars will always have one unless we're all on battery power before I'm dead and gone. Having said that, the trend is moving toward more creature comforts, more toys, more automation. I'm glad some of us remain purists.

Back in my younger days I used to race bicycles -- 10 speed road bikes. The entire ride, while matching terrain to your own very narrow power band at efficient RPM, was a constant exercise in shifting the right gear at the right time and thinking ahead. In a car, you have an extremely wide power band -- even wider with a big V8, and there is (IMHO) absolutely no excuse for being in the wrong gear at the wrong time. If you are, it's because you aren't paying attention to traffic and you got caught playing with your DIC. :)

Yeah, I would definitely have to agree with what others have already said, for me its about having total control of the car and the pure fun factor. I don't live in an heavy traffic area and I really enjoy driving.

My wife doesn't understand it either, but I personally believe any car built on the basis of peformance, should be offered in a manual. I'm the kinda of guy that walks upon a Z06 at the car show and will get pissed if its an automatic.

For me if I wanted and automatic I would by a Lincoln.

I live in Forney, TX and commute 45 miles a day thru Dallas up to Plano/Frisco and would put up with shifting in traffic for those weekend days where you get to down shift into a corner (usually on a service road heading to rural Forney) and come out of the turn with the RPM's soaring and punch it out of a turn with so much power on tap with the high rpms. To me its so worth it. Thats my personal preference tho. And when you do get a chance to get on it, slamming gears is so much more fun than just pushing down the gas pedal with an AM. I can definitely see why you don't want a manual. Houston traffic is worse than Dallas traffic.

It's nothing but nostaglia to me! It's like having to have a Harley, just because it's a Harley. With all the speeds now, and the way they work like manuals, why have the hassle of a clutch???????? This is 6, Mercedes have 7, and Lexus' ISF has an 8-speed!

True, True.

Hypothetical question: would you like your car the same if it had an equivalently powerful electric motor driving the front wheels? (It will go down the road just fine too)

I was really hoping to get a GT M6 (like my GTO) and don't want to wait for, or deal with the poor fuel mileage, of the GXP. I'm a sales rep and drive about 40k/year but I have this image of the typical automatic driver. Yes, it's a stereotype but every stereotype has a lot of truth in it.

I see many drivers who lay their left wrist on top of the wheel, never signal lane changes, talk on the phone, and are doing whatever they can to remove themselves from the driving experience. And they love slapping that shifter into drive and never having to touch it again.

I signal every lane change, keep right except to pass, read traffic patterns, know when someone will want to change lanes - sometimes before they know it - and allow room for them, and I love my manual.

On another note, I do some teenager driver coaching (17 years of road course high-speed driver school instructing, sports car racing, etc - the teenager programs are about awareness, and safe and efficient street driving and are NOT about speed) and I recently took a student teenager for a short ride in the GTO. After about two minutes, he asked if I ever put the transmission into "drive" - he thought it was a manumatic. I told him that it's a straight manual transmission and he said that he had never heard of that. "You have to shift it all the time?"

He never knew that a manual transmission existed...and he's a sharp kid from a good family.

He told me that he had never been in a vehicle that had this type transmission. All his school buses were automatics, his parents' cars are autos, and all his friends' and their parents' cars are autos...

If the GT is never offered with an M6, I'll probably hold my nose and buy one anyway. With three small children - one becoming a teenager during my next car - the G8 is the perfect car for me...but I'll miss the purity of a manual.

I was really hoping to get a GT M6 (like my GTO) and don't want to wait for, or deal with the poor fuel mileage, of the GXP. I'm a sales rep and drive about 40k/year but I have this image of the typical automatic driver. Yes, it's a stereotype but every stereotype has a lot of truth in it.

I see many drivers who lay their left wrist on top of the wheel, never signal lane changes, talk on the phone, and are doing whatever they can to remove themselves from the driving experience. And they love slapping that shifter into drive and never having to touch it again.

I signal every lane change, keep right except to pass, read traffic patterns, know when someone will want to change lanes - sometimes before they know it - and allow room for them, and I love my manual.

On another note, I do some teenager driver coaching (17 years of road course high-speed driver school instructing, sports car racing, etc - the teenager programs are about awareness, and safe and efficient street driving and are NOT about speed) and I recently took a student teenager for a short ride in the GTO. After about two minutes, he asked if I ever put the transmission into "drive" - he thought it was a manumatic. I told him that it's a straight manual transmission and he said that he had never heard of that. "You have to shift it all the time?"

He never knew that a manual transmission existed...and he's a sharp kid from a good family.

He told me that he had never been in a vehicle that had this type transmission. All his school buses were automatics, his parents' cars are autos, and all his friends' and their parents' cars are autos...

If the GT is never offered with an M6, I'll probably hold my nose and buy one anyway. With three small children - one becoming a teenager during my next car - the G8 is the perfect car for me...but I'll miss the purity of a manual.

You sound like....well me! I too am very involved in my driving...every time I get in the car. It's always been fun.

Love manuals..and I drive city commutes in my M6 GTO. It's got so much low end torque I usually start in 3rd gear now!! So I can really get by with two or three shifts at the most.:pir_flag:

So Quick, get a G8 GT and keep the GTO! Nothing says you have to get rid of it!

So Quick, get a G8 GT and keep the GTO! Nothing says you have to get rid of it!

I'm keeping mine, too. G8GT is the wife's grocery hauler (gotta keep the ice cream from melting on the way home) and for trips outta town when we're hauling tons of backpacking stuff that won't fit in the Goat. My G8 is due in tomorrow, I hope.

This is why manuals kick ass. http://www.g8board.com/forums/showthread.php?p=24120#post24120

I see all of the benefits to a maunal...but I HATE the jerky feeling inbetween shifts.Even taking it easy,it will never be as smooth as an auto-for me.If I want control,thats why the gt comes with a perf sport mode and I can save my left foot for tapping to loud music...just my .02$

So Quick, get a G8 GT and keep the GTO! Nothing says you have to get rid of it!

There's an idea!

And with 115,000 on the clock, it won't be worth much, although the interior looks brand-new and it runs great.

And I would love to race it someday in NASA's American Iron class.

Man! Now you got me thinkin'...

:gears:

Quick, I kept my GTO with that exact thing in mind...RACE IT! I feel as though you can never have TOO many toys!

My preference is for a manual transmission, but since my wife can't drive a stick (let me put it this way: she can, but you really don't want her to :eek2:), that makes me stuck with an A/T.

I could happily drive a manual tranny all day, every day, and have done so in the past. Still, with enough horsepower and a decent A/T, there is plenty of fun to be had.

MPG...plus the fact that it's good enough for the rest of the world....plus it's cheaper maintenance...plus not worrying about some mis-timed downshift upsetting your traction halfway throught a turn.