For true car nuts, there is nothing better than having
total control over your car’s power via a manual transmission.
Unfortunately, we three-pedal lovers are becoming less and less common
each year, especially with the advancements being made in automatic
transmission technology. This disappearance of the slush-box automatics
and introduction of precision shifting performance automatics has left
the manual transmission as an undesirable hunk of metal.
The
BMW M-Series is a clear example of where a manual transmission is at
its best. With the baby brother, the M3, punching out 414 ponies and its
two big brothers, the M5 and M6,
slated to wallop the concrete with 560 horsepower; we think a manual
transmission is the only way to really experience them. Well, apparently
we are in the minority, as according to Inside Line, only 15 to 20 percent of the M5s sold in the U.S. last year were six-speed manuals and BMW has taken notice.
With this, BMW
has decided that the next generation M5 and M6 will not be engineered
with a manual transmission option, leaving just a dual-clutch automatic
as the only available transmission. This makes the reports that the U.S.-bound M6 models will come with a manual option seem like they were just pipe dreams. The M3, however, will still receive its typical no-cost manual transmission option.
Fortunately
for us, the dual clutch transmission is just as responsive, if not more
responsive, than a manual transmission. Plus, there is no clutch to
mess with, so your left foot can take a much needed break from all of
the thrashing it has received over the years. To boot, this automatic
transmission has also proved to be a more fuel-economy-friendly option
over manual transmissions, which is pretty much the opposite of what we
have had crammed into our heads for the last, say, 100 years!
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