BMW drops Manual Transmission Option

[POS Racing]

http://www.autoblog.com/2012/06/21/n...ission-option/

WTF really on an M-Series??

I remember back when BMWs were the Ultimate Driving Machine!!!

[p4R4d0x]

That's not good news. They still use the 'Ultimate Driving Machine' slogan in their commercials.

[ken o]

Why care? On an M5 that will 99.999% spend time on the road the DCT is a better choice. Now when slap some A6s on it and take it to SCCA Nats well ok. Drive the DCT before you hate on it.

[p4R4d0x]

Admittedly, I haven't driven any of BMW's DCT's, but I have driven VW's ('08 R32, and '11 GTI) with the DSG, and whatever MINI's paddle-shift is (not sure if it's dual-clutch or not) and it was fun at first, but I found it boring compared to manual.

Why care? Because not everyone wants the DCT, especially in a car like an M5, whether or not it might be a 'better' choice. My hate is less on the DCT and more on not having a choice in the matter.

[OZMDD]

Anyone who is shopping for an M5 will also own a dedicated sports car if they really want the clutch pedal experience. I don't see BMW shooting themselves in the foot by eliminating an option that potential buyers "must have." Their research suggests that most of their buyers dont want it or dont care, or have figured out that the DCT actually works great. Rig a dummy pedal if you must have the "feel."

[cwisenheimer]

The thing about automatics, for me, is that they remove one more connection from control of the vehicle. For a daily family transportation appliance, I actually prefer an auto. For something I want to *drive*, an auto removes something major from the experience. I don't really care if an auto is faster. Suppose they developed an auto-everything car (gas, steering, brakes, nav) that was faster than any other car. It might win a race, but it wouldn't be "driving." It also wouldn't take any skill or proficiency.

Btw, BMW *has* developed an auto-everything car. It's not for sale...yet.

[OZMDD]

Meh. I'm not saying you are wrong, and I do love my clutch, but I don't agree that you are really giving up meaningful control of the car by making shifting a "hands-only" operation. Whenever you push the clutch, you are concentrating on something other than controlling the car, and disengaging the driveline from the motor. Being able to focus attention on steering, acceleration and braking, then a lesser amount on shifting (and hands never leaving the wheel) seems very driver-focused. Maybe that's why F1 does it.

Not advocating replacing shifting with a full-auto, just manual DCT with the ability to drive it as an auto on the street. Like sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic on 75 at 5 pm. I hate my clutch at times like that.

[gabkwong]

Isn't the F1 cars are all auto for many years already? I think it is something like the ABS. When it first came out, everyone think it is for the dummies. Once they find out that you can brake deeper into the corner with the ABS, no one complains any more. I wish I have ABS on my Miata.

[p4R4d0x]

Meh. I'm not saying you are wrong, and I do love my clutch, but I don't agree that you are really giving up meaningful control of the car by making shifting a "hands-only" operation. Whenever you push the clutch, you are concentrating on something other than controlling the car, and disengaging the driveline from the motor. Being able to focus attention on steering, acceleration and braking, then a lesser amount on shifting (and hands never leaving the wheel) seems very driver-focused. Maybe that's why F1 does it.

I'm not saying meaningful control, I'm saying it's not as 'engaging' of an experience as driving manual; not as much fun. Like ken o said, that M5 will spend 99.999% of its life on the road, doing speeds where the additional time to focus attention on steering, acceleration, and braking is not necessary or significant. I don't think it's fair to compare it to a purpose-built race car like F1... That car is designed for one thing - to go fast around a road course, not to be enjoyable to drive which the 'ultimate driving machine' slogan implies. And not everyone lives in an area where bumper-to-bumper traffic is an issue.

Different strokes for different folks.

I think it is something like the ABS. When it first came out, everyone think it is for the dummies. Once they find out that you can brake deeper into the corner with the ABS, no one complains any more.

I am still anti-ABS (on some surfaces), but I am a rally guy.. :)

[NeilAgg]

I am chiming in late on this, but the M3 is still going to have a manual option.
My guess is most people that are going to do true performance driving will buy that anyway.