This is a 2004 BMW M3 CSL, which stands for Coupé Sport Leichtbau. It could be the best E46 ever made if it had a manual transmission. Unfortunately, it came with an upgraded SMG semi-automatic which wasn't as good that the six-speed manual in the base car.

Most every car you find these days has a six or seven speed transmission. But some people want more. Lexus has an eight speed auto. ZF is working on a nine speed auto. Hyundai will offer a ten speed soon. But now they're going to be outdone by Volkswagen. Beigekrieg, forward!

Earlier this year, after Jalopnik pointed to a tide of transmission complaints from owners of 2011 Ford Mustangs, Ford identified several issues with the car's Chinese-built Getrag MT82 six-speed, and issued a pair of service bulletins. Now, the Feds are done poking around. The verdict? No recall. The transmission's…

Detroit's ad machine — back when it ran on brown liquor and slathered on Old Spice without a touch of irony — used a not-so-subtle play on America's rigid gender roles to sell the country on automatic transmissions. The ladies, you see, can't be bothered to shift on their own.

Earlier this year we told you about a rising number of Ford Mustang owners complaining of faulty manual transmissions that Ford can't seem to fix. Now U.S. safety regulators have opened a defect probe into 26,000 cars.

Sure, its a first for automatic, front-wheel-drive vehicles, but ZF's just walking in the footsteps of semi-truck transmission builders with its 9-speed gearbox, which will offer all the all-wheel-drive/floor wax/dessert topping flexibility those zed-effing Germans can muster.

The 2011 Ford Mustang debuted last year to glowing reviews, strong sales and swaddled in American pride. But over the past several months, hundreds of owners have complained of broken Chinese-built manual transmissions — a problem Ford has yet to rectify.

Even with the language barrier and cultural challenges, it's easy to understand what's happening here: a Ferrari F430 is racing a Japanese-market Toyota Corolla, both in reverse. It's the winner that needs some explanation.

The new Ford Fiesta has slowly gained converts among Americans, hitting a high in sales last month. But Ford's now facing a growing number of complaints about the Fiesta's new dual-clutch automatic transmission set to go into other Ford models as well.