Highly doubtful re: Volvo. Seriously considering a used manual transmission Subaru for my daughter when she gets to be driving age.

 

Volvo offers 6 speed manual with smaller engine like S60 D3, S90 D4... yes diesel
just like other automakers, they dont have manual transmission that is capable handling big amounts of torque/power.
also push for lower CO2 emissions creates the challenge and CVT,7,9,9,10 speed trans puts the engine in optimal/more efficient operation.

 

As an old school driver my family learned to drive on stick shift cars. Dad had a 1977 FIAT 128 and one of the mechanics back in the late 70s drove a late 70s SAAB 99. My first car after college was a 1991 VW Jetta GL 5 speed I bought used at Jack Daniels in Fairlawn NJ around 1994.

My neighbors kids learned on manuals and I think learning on a manual transmission makes for a better driver.

Dad's FIAT was always in the shop but he did test drive a late 70s BMW 3 series and a Golf. His brother, my uncle in Europe had a Mk 1 Golf which we drove.

I have seen the previous first generation S60 which started in 2000 had sticks. I doubt Volvo would ever bring back the stick, but I still think learning on a stick shift makes for better drivers.

Other than sports cars, you'll be hard pressed to find a manual transmission in the U.S.. Heck, most people couldn't drive a manual, myself included....Insert attempting to drive a friend's Brand New Mustang about 7 or 8 years ago. Insisted it was so easy to drive manual.. Well I stalled the damn thing out countless times. Enough said on manuals!

 

No reason to have a "true" manual anymore. With 10-speed automatics and lockup clutches on torque converters manual transmissions can't win on fuel economy anymore and DCTs are faster than "true" manuals on a race track so the two historic advantages of a manual simply don't exist anymore.

The only reason to have a "true" manual anymore is nostalgia.

 

No reason to have a "true" manual anymore.

Please don't tell me your 944 is an auto. that would be so boring. Manuals are more fun! Thats the reason.

Can you do a clutch drop tire shredding burnout with an automatic 944?

The only reason to have a "true" manual anymore is nostalgia.

and fun.
and reliability.
and its a good way to keep valets, odd friends, bad family drivers, etc from driving your car.
and although I agree with you that auto's are proving to be as fast or faster than shifting a manual transmission, they still can't anticipate what the driver is about to do. a driver with a manual trans always knows how it will behave, since they are in full control. there are situations that a manual will be better, for safety and speed.
and did I mention tire shredding burnouts?

 

Totally agree stick shift is way more fun to drive and definitely more engaging. I wish more cars offered it.

If Volvo offered it I'd consider the brand for my next car but it's highly doubtful.

We still have Honda, VW Golf and Jetta, Mazda3, Genesis G70. A WRX would be nice if they make the hatchback again.

Sent from my ASUS_Z017DA using Tapatalk

 

Lets not forget the Hyundai I30N and Renault Megane RS!

I was a teenager in the 80s and most affordable cars were stick, I had a friend who could hold a beer between his legs, smoke a cigarette and honk on a pipe whilst driving a stick, I wouldn't say we had less things to distract us back then!

 

Loved the Renaults and Peugots too



My smarter uncle had a Renault 4L I think back in the 70s and when he came back from France to Montenegro that car was so exotic. Tiny and unsafe by today's standards but we also had many taxi cab rides and drivers from hell in those 70s and 80s euro vacations in cars like the Russian Lada or Serbian Zastava 750 , related to the FIAT cars of those eras.

Being close to 50 now it's hard for me to see what's going on with kids today. At least we had those beater type of cars to unleash the teenage turmoil on.

And now in my distant memory I hear the ticking of a Rabbit Diesel or MB w114 diesels that I think always made it to at least 500,000 miles and were sure tough on those mountains. Seeing the farmers unload heir organic farm goods at the weekly market visits was not like going into a supermarket where everything goes in thru back loading docks and trucks.

Something is lost in today's hustle.

 

Funny, my wife just said yesterday that she loves her 18' V90CC but she wishes it was a standard. When she needs a "manual fix" she drives the 07' V70.

 

It's the opposite in our house. I get my manual fix from my wife's BMW 328 (that and the straight six fix).
The market for manuals is small but manufacturers who offer it stand out compared to the competition. Everyone is making fairly decent cars these days compared to, say, 20 (or even 10) years ago. To me Volvo does not stand out as much as it used to.

 

I just had a business trip in Ireland and I got a BMW 116D with the 6 speed. Driving on the opposite side of the road and using my opposite hand to shift was a blast!! For my regular manual fix, I have my 1972 Opel GT to drive, when the weather is nice!!

 

Exact reason I didn't get rentals when I visited the UK some years back. Opposite side of road and Europeans love their manuals!

 

As Volvo is moving toward all electric cars or hybrid-electric, you can be sure that no manual transmission will come back. Unless it is some sort of "fake" manual transmission like Ford has showed on the electric Mustang at SEMA. With electric motors or hybridized motors, it simply becomes irrelevant.

 

I don't think one needs to over complicate the question with facts, numbers, and failure diagnosis.
This is purely a "feeling" issue and there is no right or wrong. Some people, myself included, like the feel of the manual transmission. To me it's more fun (no matter faster or not).
Fun is totally subjective and does not have to make sense or mean the same thing for everyone.
Yes, we all know, for a whole bunch of reasons, manuals are not coming. It's just wishful thinking.
We'll all be driving EVs eventually and enjoying their simplicity I for one look forward to my first EV.

 

The question was whether Volvo will ever bring back the stick shift. That absolutely does have a right and wrong. That absolutely is about facts and numbers.

I love the manual transmission. But I don't pretend that my nostalgic affection for it is a legitimate reason for a company like Volvo to invest in creating new vehicles with traditional manual transmissions. I don't see any reason for a company like Volvo to bring back a "true" manual transmission. A DCT is a possibility but even that seems unlikely with Volvo's target market.

This isn't a knock on the traditional manual. It's simply understanding the current market and state of technology. Now that automatics are as efficient at transmitting power as manuals, are able to have 10 or more gears, have computer controls that allow manual shifting, and will last well over 100,000 miles without problems most of the reasons why traditional manuals were kept around from a manufacturer's perspective are just not there anymore. It's really expensive to design a linkage and a shift lever and all that, along with designing and engineering the transmission itself. Going all automatic or all DCT allows the gear lever (or, these days, knob) to be all electronic and much easier to fit into the interior. That extra flexibility in the design of the interior is great for manufacturers.

My loving the traditional manual isn't going to give Volvo a reason to bring it back.

 

Electric actually gives a better chance to do manual than not even though fewer gears would be needed. It eliminates the need to separately certify a different drive train as there are no emissions to certify. at the very lease it opens up the legality of conversion. But the market just isn't there for a manual I don't think.

As for the argument about automatics being more efficient... you could make the same argument that artificial insemination is more efficient... that doesn't make it better.

 

I have two motorcycles, one with a 6 speed manual and one with a 6 speed DCT. On a mountain ascent with switchbacks, the DCT is way more fun, allowing me to concentrate on throttle/brakes/steering without having to match RPMs to conditions. If I want to shift manually, I have paddles.

 

I've never really wanted a touring motorcycle (I tend to prefer the UJM style and roadsters) but that DCT on the new Gold Wing does make me very intrigued. Would love a CB1100 with that DCT but I don't think it'll ever happen.

 

Actually the DCT bike is the Honda CTX700. I like UJMs and roadsters, too, and the manual bike is a first edition R1200R(oadster), released before BMW hit later versions with an ugly stick. Yes, the CB1100 has great classic looks.

 

even a Hyundai can make a fun day !
or a Honda if you wanna, or a Toyota toy for that matter ! Nissan insanity or perhaps a KIA see ya !