Will GM expand its manuals?

Grumpy Bear · December 10, 2017

5 hours ago, Logan Lanfear said:

I started this to compare what GM did with manuals to see how they would continue it. Obviously trucks have come a long way. My 1998 is very "advanced" with just as many options as my 2008 had. Gets the same mileage. The 2008 just has higher capacities. The advancement comes through technology that allows us to do more with the same amount of fuel. You say that manuals are dead however they're still produced? Obviously GM has given up on full size truck manuals but they have truck options and vehicle options with a manual. Just because someone tends to enjoy shifting while they drive doesn't mean they cant understand that autos have came a long way.

It isn't a matter of enjoyment. It's a matter of functionality and refinement. I can think of exactly one automatic transmission that I believe might be worth of comparison to a manual. The Mazda SkyActiv used in the Scion iA aka Mazda 2 coupe. Comparisons made to other inadequate designs are comparisons without reference that matters. Yes the 6L80/6L90 is quite the box compared to a Powerflite but no so much compared to the Mazda's state of refinement. No it doesn't have the capacity to do a truck but....If capacity is all I needed give me an Allison.

Daly · December 10, 2017

GM won't be putting slush boxes back in trucks anytime soon, if at all, for the same two reasons they stopped in the first place. Automatics have come a long way and are just as, if not more, efficient then Manuals and the sales of manuals were below 2% which made it not worth the money to invest in the segment anymore. Less and less people drive stick shift unfortunately. The die hard drivers that want a stick shift, just don't equate to enough sales to justify it to the manufactures any more. The Colorado gets one simply because of the market it's deployed in, mainly oversea's where they still drive stick, and millennial don't exist as much. Because lets face it, it's those pricks that caused this, it's hard to burry your face in a mobile device when you have to watch the road, let alone shift gears.

Another thing to look at is the Ram 2500 and 3500's with a manual get a derated cummins. I'm not sure of exact numbers but with an auto they have a significantly higher torque rating. With the majority of the population wanting automatics, that's where the development money went, as a result they can handle the power, economy and reliability better than they use to. There isn't even a way to check the trans fluid in an automatic anymore.

I do miss running through the gears in a manual though, and have being saving money to switch my Duster over to a manual, just so I can get my fix. I was even looking into switching my 91 C2500 to a SM465 (yes I prefer it over the NV4500), but I might just see if I can find a truck instead, it would be just as expensive.

Edited December 10, 2017 by Daly

Grumpy Bear · December 10, 2017

1 hour ago, Daly said:

GM won't be putting slush boxes back in trucks anytime soon, if at all, for the same two reasons they stopped in the first place. Automatics have come a long way and are just as, if not more, efficient then Manuals and the sales of manuals were below 2% which made it not worth the money to invest in the segment anymore.

Slush boxes are automatics young one.

You can heard Lemmings over the nearest cliff with good marketing. De-rated motors by Dodge in your post are a perfect example. Can't get what you want with the manual but can with the automatic steers people out of a segment while maintaining the 'claim' of offering but no one bought. Oh poor me. Then there's this...who of the current generation of drivers can actually drive a stick? They can't even parallel park! Ford fixed that too. It will do it for you. But boy do they have an opinion on it.

Manual transmissions are going the way of film in cameras. Anyone old enough to have actually been highly proficient with film knows for a fact that it excels head and shoulders over digital but digital makes more money so money wins and people loose again and yet believe they have advanced. And now we are convinced that calling BS on something makes it so by popular opinion. What digital did was give people who have no understanding of the art the ability to not embarrass themselves opening the family album. Photos are about the picture not the profit in the picture. People are easy to confuse.

Manual machining v CNC. CNC doesn't make a better part. It makes a close enough for horseshoes" parts fast enough to quadruple profits. Any decent old time chip maker can make the part to a greater level of precision than any CNC machine. He just can't do if faster.

People are confused about the difference between something being better and something being profitable. That's possible if marketing waits long enough for the one who knew to die off. There's always some jackass telling the world they are the same thing.

Edited December 10, 2017 by Grumpy Bear

Daly · December 10, 2017

18 minutes ago, Grumpy Bear said:

Slush boxes are automatics young one.

Hardly a young one, just groggy and hung over. I started off writing something different and switched the way I wanted to state it. I was going to say "GM won't be offering anything but a slush box", but went a different direction...

Donstar · December 12, 2017

I stopped buying trucks with a manual transmission only because they were no longer offered. I get frustrated when I hear it said that there wasn't enough sales. It is hard to sell something that isn't available. The many threads I read on this forum from members complaining about their transmissions (hunting for gears & poor performance) suggests to me that there is a place for the manual. It doesn't need to be relegated to base models or RAM 3/4 tons. If they offered a truck appropriate manual transmission in a higher trim Silverado or Sierra, sales may surprise the bean counters at GM.

Logan Lanfear · December 13, 2017

23 hours ago, Donstar said:

I stopped buying trucks with a manual transmission only because they were no longer offered. I get frustrated when I hear it said that there wasn't enough sales. It is hard to sell something that isn't available. The many threads I read on this forum from members complaining about their transmissions (hunting for gears & poor performance) suggests to me that there is a place for the manual. It doesn't need to be relegated to base models or RAM 3/4 tons. If they offered a truck appropriate manual transmission in a higher trim Silverado or Sierra, sales may surprise the bean counters at GM.

I think the bigger problem is the derated towing and power numbers that often come with manuals. I think the auto companies dont give drivers enough credit to be able to competently use a manual. They can definitely build them strongly enough. I would rather tow with a manual.