As environmental regulations get stricter and stricter, automakers have turned to increasingly more creative ways to make their cars more efficient. One of these methods is to simply add more gears. Trouble is, these are always found in automatic transmissions, not manuals. What gives?
ZF makes very nice eight-speed automatics. Ford now has a 10-speed automatic. It doesn’t seem like either of those two transmission will ever become manuals. But if they did, can you just imagine how big the H-pattern would be? It’d take up the entire center console! You be shifting into ninth and 10th gear in your passenger’s lap.
And if something is going to be that large and dominating, at least make it cool to look at. Make it a gated manual. Don’t cover in that cheap leather that all the other automakers use.
I want to see the gates of all 10 of those gears, plus reverse. Since I’ll be shifting like there’s no tomorrow anyway (or like I’m in a Fast and Furious movie) I want that metal-on-metal clunk when I find a new gear. I want a reward for all the work I’m going to be doing.
I don’t want to have to hunt around for third as I’m coming down from ninth. I don’t want to mis-shift from 10th to fifth. I want to see my gates; I want precision, dammit.
No gated manual, no deal. Thank you.