American BMW M2 Buyers Are Saving The Manual Gearbox From Death

But the manual is still living on borrowed time. Read why.

Eventually, the manual transmission will no longer be needed, but not necessarily due to a lack of willing buyers. The reason is autonomous technologies. Self-driving cars and manuals don’t go together. Today, however, the manual gearbox continues to thrive, at least for BMW USA. Speaking to Car Advice, BMW M chief Frank Van Meel revealed that some 50 percent of M2 buyers are opting for a clutch pedal instead of the dual-clutch option.

“Buyers vote with their wallets,” Van Meel explained. “Being an engineer I would say from a rational standpoint that even though the manual gearbox is lighter than an automated gearbox it uses more fuel and is slower, so it doesn’t really make sense.” He’s right.

Computer-controlled automatics and DCTs, despite being heavier, are more fuel efficient, and efficiency is the name of the game these days. But the traditional manual isn’t about to walk off into the sunset just yet. “But from the emotional standpoint, a lot of customers say ‘I don’t care, I want to have one (a manual)’. As long as we have these take rates on M2, but also the M3 and M4, we’re going to offer manuals because we listen to our customers… if demand is so high, then why not fulfill it?”

That sounds all well and good at the moment, but Van Meel has to admit autonomy will eventually sign the manual’s death warrant. “The bad news is that if we one day have autonomous cars, then the manual cannot work anymore, so that would be, let’s say, the natural end.” Fortunately, BMW’s upcoming next generation modular architecture, the basis for a good chunk of vehicles including sedans and M cars, can accommodate a manual gearbox. We should view the state of the manual as something living on borrowed time, regardless of automaker.

American BMW M2 Buyers Are Saving The Manual Gearbox From Death

But the manual is still living on borrowed time. Read why.

Eventually, the manual transmission will no longer be needed, but not necessarily due to a lack of willing buyers. The reason is autonomous technologies. Self-driving cars and manuals don’t go together. Today, however, the manual gearbox continues to thrive, at least for BMW USA. Speaking to Car Advice, BMW M chief Frank Van Meel revealed that some 50 percent of M2 buyers are opting for a clutch pedal instead of the dual-clutch option.

“Buyers vote with their wallets,” Van Meel explained. “Being an engineer I would say from a rational standpoint that even though the manual gearbox is lighter than an automated gearbox it uses more fuel and is slower, so it doesn’t really make sense.” He’s right.

Computer-controlled automatics and DCTs, despite being heavier, are more fuel efficient, and efficiency is the name of the game these days. But the traditional manual isn’t about to walk off into the sunset just yet. “But from the emotional standpoint, a lot of customers say ‘I don’t care, I want to have one (a manual)’. As long as we have these take rates on M2, but also the M3 and M4, we’re going to offer manuals because we listen to our customers… if demand is so high, then why not fulfill it?”

That sounds all well and good at the moment, but Van Meel has to admit autonomy will eventually sign the manual’s death warrant. “The bad news is that if we one day have autonomous cars, then the manual cannot work anymore, so that would be, let’s say, the natural end.” Fortunately, BMW’s upcoming next generation modular architecture, the basis for a good chunk of vehicles including sedans and M cars, can accommodate a manual gearbox. We should view the state of the manual as something living on borrowed time, regardless of automaker.

Here’s Why The New BMW Z4 Won’t Get A Manual Gearbox

A full-fat BMW Z4 M is also unlikely to happen.

It’s no secret that sports cars with manual gearboxes are becoming a dying breed, so we weren’t surprised when the 2019 BMW Z4 was revealed with an eight-speed ZF automatic as the only transmission option. Speaking with Road and Track, BMW head of Research and Development Klaus Frohlich explained why the Z4 isn’t being offered with a manual. The fact is, the sports car segment is a shrinking market and there’s much more customer demand for automatic transmissions.

Frohlich argued it simply wouldn’t make financial sense for BMW to invest in engineering a manual transmission for the Z4 when few people would buy it. The only consolation is that Frohlich said he would be open to the possibility of adding a manual gearbox to the Z4 in the future – but only if there is enough customer demand to justify it.

The declining demand for sports cars is also why a full-fat BMW Z4 M is unlikely to get the green light. In fact, Frohlich admitted he had a hard time convincing top BMW executives to get the regular Z4 approved. "At the moment this segment is very small, and I had to fight hard to make the [new Z4] happen at all, honestly. It was against the finance controllers," he admitted.

Instead, the M40i represents the range-topping model in the Z4 range as the next best thing to a full fat M model. In Europe, it has a turbocharged inline-six 3.0-liter engine producing 355 horsepower. Technical specifications will be revealed for the US later this month – let's hope it has more power since emissions regulations aren’t as strict as Europe's.

American BMW M2 Buyers Are Saving The Manual Gearbox From Death

But the manual is still living on borrowed time. Read why.

Eventually, the manual transmission will no longer be needed, but not necessarily due to a lack of willing buyers. The reason is autonomous technologies. Self-driving cars and manuals don’t go together. Today, however, the manual gearbox continues to thrive, at least for BMW USA. Speaking to Car Advice, BMW M chief Frank Van Meel revealed that some 50 percent of M2 buyers are opting for a clutch pedal instead of the dual-clutch option.

“Buyers vote with their wallets,” Van Meel explained. “Being an engineer I would say from a rational standpoint that even though the manual gearbox is lighter than an automated gearbox it uses more fuel and is slower, so it doesn’t really make sense.” He’s right.

Computer-controlled automatics and DCTs, despite being heavier, are more fuel efficient, and efficiency is the name of the game these days. But the traditional manual isn’t about to walk off into the sunset just yet. “But from the emotional standpoint, a lot of customers say ‘I don’t care, I want to have one (a manual)’. As long as we have these take rates on M2, but also the M3 and M4, we’re going to offer manuals because we listen to our customers… if demand is so high, then why not fulfill it?”

That sounds all well and good at the moment, but Van Meel has to admit autonomy will eventually sign the manual’s death warrant. “The bad news is that if we one day have autonomous cars, then the manual cannot work anymore, so that would be, let’s say, the natural end.” Fortunately, BMW’s upcoming next generation modular architecture, the basis for a good chunk of vehicles including sedans and M cars, can accommodate a manual gearbox. We should view the state of the manual as something living on borrowed time, regardless of automaker.

Why Doesn't BMW's Dual-Clutch Gearbox Have A Park Position?

A manual doesn't have one either.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with BMW’s highly regarded dual-clutch transmission, there’s something you need to know: it doesn’t offer a park position. That could certainly make things a bit difficult when parking the car and shutting off the ignition; wouldn’t the car roll away? No way. Come on, these are German engineers we’re talking about here, so of course that won’t happen. This latest video from BMW M explains fairly simply how the DCT works and why there’s no park position.

But before you watch, think about this: a manual transmission, often favored by BMW fans (especially in the US), doesn’t have a park position either, unlike conventional automatic transmissions. BMW wanted to replicate, if you will, the manual’s characteristics with its DCT.

This gearbox, according to BMW, “combines the best of two worlds: auto-switching and manual switching.” Another interesting thing is that also like a manual, the DCT does not have a torque converter. When you go to release the brake, the car won’t role. Drivers also simply accelerate like they would with a manual and just gently apply pressure to the gas pedal. One tap is sufficient enough to activate Low Speed Assistant. But what happens when you actually go to park and exit the vehicle? If there’s no park position, what gear do you leave it in? The answer is: it doesn’t matter. The moment the vehicle is turned off it’ll automatically go into park. Told you those Germans were a clever bunch.

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Why Doesn't BMW's Dual-Clutch Gearbox Have A Park Position?

A manual doesn't have one either.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with BMW’s highly regarded dual-clutch transmission, there’s something you need to know: it doesn’t offer a park position. That could certainly make things a bit difficult when parking the car and shutting off the ignition; wouldn’t the car roll away? No way. Come on, these are German engineers we’re talking about here, so of course that won’t happen. This latest video from BMW M explains fairly simply how the DCT works and why there’s no park position.

But before you watch, think about this: a manual transmission, often favored by BMW fans (especially in the US), doesn’t have a park position either, unlike conventional automatic transmissions. BMW wanted to replicate, if you will, the manual’s characteristics with its DCT.

This gearbox, according to BMW, “combines the best of two worlds: auto-switching and manual switching.” Another interesting thing is that also like a manual, the DCT does not have a torque converter. When you go to release the brake, the car won’t role. Drivers also simply accelerate like they would with a manual and just gently apply pressure to the gas pedal. One tap is sufficient enough to activate Low Speed Assistant. But what happens when you actually go to park and exit the vehicle? If there’s no park position, what gear do you leave it in? The answer is: it doesn’t matter. The moment the vehicle is turned off it’ll automatically go into park. Told you those Germans were a clever bunch.

PSA warns of further production halts over gearbox shortage

Production of the 308's six-speed manual transmission version has been hit by bottlenecks.Laurence Frost
Reuters
August 30, 2018 09:14 CET

PARIS -- Production of PSA Group's Peugeot 308 compact car may suffer intermittent stoppages in coming weeks because of a shortage of transmissions, the French automaker said on Wednesday.

The production line building the 308 in Sochaux, eastern France, was disrupted for a second day before resuming work in the afternoon, PSA spokeswoman Karine Douet said.

A production bottleneck affecting the model's new six-speed manual transmission will gradually disappear as manufacturing of the gearbox ramps up at another PSA site in Valenciennes, northern France, Douet said.

"Given that this ramp-up will take a few weeks more, other temporary production stoppages or shift changes may occur in the factories," she said.

PSA nonetheless expects "no impact on its sales volume for the second half," Douet said.

Summer production slowdowns may also have affected the pace of transmission production in Valenciennes.

As part of its response to the production hitches, PSA said it was drafting in workers from other French manufacturing sites.

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