No More Manuals - is it true?

No More Manuals - is it true?

Author
Discussion

Graze01

Original Poster:

1,034 posts

91 months

Monday 29th March 2021
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Was at our local dealership this morning and enquired about ordering a manual Vantage

Was told they are not doing them any more - factory isnt taking orders for manuals!

anyone else heard this?

Graze

anonymous-user

53 months

Monday 29th March 2021
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It's a possibility; while there was a commitment to offer a manual transmission for many years to come, it was always reliant on there being sufficient uptake relative to auto sales.

Aside from the AMR, I don't believe there's been very many speccing a regular Vantage with the 7-speed box. Enthusiasts might say it's paramount they continue to offer it, but it's been an option for just over a year now, and there's been very little interest on either Coupe or Roadster.

AdamV12V

4,987 posts

176 months

Monday 29th March 2021
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Oh no that's a sad state of affairs if true, but probably not all that surprising.

Here on PH we are hardly reflective of your average joe, and I think joe probably cares more about what APR or GFV he's getting on a car than how enjoyable it actually is to drive.

Hey Ho... Life goes on, and just makes our current Manual cars all the more likely to become classics. smile

9xxNick

927 posts

213 months

Monday 29th March 2021
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It's becoming increasingly common on most performance cars. The Alpine has no manual option, for example. It's not for me but it seems to be what the market will accept, and the performance of the automated manuals is a lot better than even the most skilled driver.

Whether it makes for a better driver's car is another question entirely.

bogie

16,342 posts

271 months

Monday 29th March 2021
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I will be hanging onto my manual roadster for a few more years then smile

cayman-black

12,625 posts

215 months

Monday 29th March 2021
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Didn't the manual have less power or torque? not surprising then.

AdamV12V

4,987 posts

176 months

Monday 29th March 2021
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cayman-black said:
Didn't the manual have less power or torque? not surprising then.
Yes the engine was slightly detuned on I believe as it couldn't handle the torque of the AMG V8. Power (BHP) remained the same however.

The AMG V8 produces 685Nm in the auto version but this was capped at 625 Nm in the manual.

The (565bhp version) V12S produced 620Nm , and for completeness, the (510bhp version) V12 produced 570 Nm.

Dewi 2

1,304 posts

64 months

Monday 29th March 2021
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AdamV12V said:
Here on PH we are hardly reflective of your average joe, and I think joe probably cares more about what APR or GFV he's getting on a car than how enjoyable it actually is to drive.
laugh

Perhaps sad for enthusiasts to witness a steady reduction in cars being a hobby. The participation in home car maintenance was widespread once, but when electronics made it all too complicated to be bothered with, I think that is when interest in cars began to decline.

We could of course see the end of manuals coming. In motorsport, the modern auto box enables quicker lap times.

The auto daily car which I use, just makes me drive in a relaxed manner, with a redundant left leg.
Fortunately, a few manuals in my collection, should see me out though.


Big Ry

1,678 posts

118 months

Monday 29th March 2021
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It was only a matter of time. Only a real enthusiast would buy a manual sportscar, and with the relentless war on speed and emissions, I fear there are less and less enthusiasts by the day.

You can't blame AM if they have ditched it, as surely that would only be down to lack of interest, so pointless them investing resource into keeping it available really.

.......off to the garage to look at my V12SMR from the olden days rofl

Minglar

1,223 posts

122 months

Monday 29th March 2021
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It’s a shame but it’s yet another sign of the times and no real surprise. AP always said he would make a manual gearbox available and he was true to his word, but as I said at the time, the automatic gearbox in the new Vantage was one of the things that did not really warrant any criticism, so the manual uptake must have been tiny. I’ve actually noticed a few manuals available on the AM Pre-Owned site recently, perhaps dealer demonstrators that are coming in to the network. The Vantage Roadster and the new F1 Edition are not available as a manual, so it was pretty obvious it would be removed as an option from the whole range.

Best Regards

Minglar

Composer62

1,627 posts

85 months

Monday 29th March 2021
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bogie said:
I will be hanging onto my manual roadster for a few more years then smile
Me too !! smile

Beckson

371 posts

50 months

Monday 29th March 2021
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Shame! A vantage roadster with manual would be quite nice....

Viahuerto

162 posts

60 months

Monday 29th March 2021
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The manual Aston put into the new Vantage is really only for diehard manual aficionados. I own one and though I like it a lot you have to put up with a lot of wonky issues (gear regularly pops out of reverse and first) and loose slot guidance which makes gear placement a bit of a crapshoot. I've owned for 14 months and I have grown accustomed to it but I just drove the new M3 with the 6 speed manual and I was reminded how easy and fun a well sorted manual can be. Also the M3 has a nice short 1st gear which means you use the transmission more. The ratios are so long on the Vantage that the car should really be a 4 speed. Maybe 5.


SL500UK

346 posts

152 months

Monday 29th March 2021
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I think around 10 years ago I read an article in 'CAR' magazine comparing several fast sport cars and there weren't many manuals amongst them. One of the comments from a professional racing driver made the point that proper manuals were slower than the automated manuals so why would anybody want one if people want to drive fast. I guess at that point I knew the writing was on the wall.

PeteB62

106 posts

79 months

Monday 29th March 2021
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I think less chance of me ever upgrading to a new Aston from my previous model manual Vantage. Finding it hard now to buy any car that's not manual unless it's a base model. Was looking to replace the wife's Q5 and both Audi or Land Rover I looked at are all Auto for the spec level I was looking at.

NMNeil

5,860 posts

49 months

Monday 29th March 2021
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Could it be that a manual transmission won't work with the automated braking systems coming next year?

Dewi 2

1,304 posts

64 months

Monday 29th March 2021
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Viahuerto said:
The manual Aston put into the new Vantage is really only for diehard manual aficionados. I own one and though I like it a lot you have to put up with a lot of wonky issues (gear regularly pops out of reverse and first) and loose slot guidance which makes gear placement a bit of a crapshoot. I've owned for 14 months and I have grown accustomed to it .... The ratios are so long on the Vantage that the car should really be a 4 speed. Maybe 5.

Yes, especially as the amount of torque available, really make 7 gears unnecessary.

Even on the old V8 with 6 gears, I sometimes belatedly notice that I am cruising along unintentionally in 4th gear, after having accelerated up to 70 mph. Perhaps a forgivable mistake, because max revs would not have been reached for the next upward gearchange (into 5th at 130 mph).

My understanding and I expect you already know, is that AML had to use the 7 speed Graziano, because the 6 speed had already been out of use on their new cars for some time. Type approval perhaps.

I can understand 1st to 4th, or 3rd to 6th might be sometimes selected by mistake, but jumping out of 1st and Reverse does not seem right.




LTP

2,051 posts

111 months

Monday 29th March 2021
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NMNeil said:
Could it be that a manual transmission won't work with the automated braking systems coming next year?
I don't know about that, but they certainly don't work as well with adaptive cruise

NMNeil

5,860 posts

49 months

Monday 29th March 2021
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LTP said:
I don't know about that, but they certainly don't work as well with adaptive cruise
It's just that all the requirements for new cars next year simply won't work with a manual transmission.

KevinBird

1,036 posts

206 months

Monday 29th March 2021
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If true, a very dark day