BMW is very proud to announce everyone that recently they’ll be launching an M-fettled version of their 1-Series small Coupé. The M Division boss has said in an official interview and they’ve launched an official video where you can see a prototype of the car driving around at moderate speeds. Whether this car has actually a place in BMW’s increasingly crowded line up remains to be seen, but let’s not distract ourselves from the main point here.
When the rumours started about this car, they said it was two have one of those new, ultra modern, dual clutch gearboxes and that would have been a very sensible option. But apparently that’s not to be. This car will have one those old-fashioned, crude and inefficient gearboxes that refuse to give up the pedal on the far left.
And it’s not alone. When everyone is giving the world all sorts of self shifting transmission, from continuously variable arrangements to all sorts of multiple clutches and everything in between, up to the 5 you can have almost everything with a manual gearbox at BMW still. Whatever you have in mind, be it a small one or the big five you can have a clutch pedal, should you fancy one.
What’s more, the Germans don’t stop there. Because if you decide to leave Munich and head to Stuttgart, or to be precise Zuffenhausen, you will find another manufacturer that’s making life difficult for those who find changing gear a bit annoying. Porsche, somehow, seems to be ignoring all the new trends regarding transmission components and still fits row-your-own ‘boxes to all their serious cars, and furthermore it’s the only option. And as if it that wasn’t enough, the steering wheel mounted controls for the PDK gearboxes are completely unfathomable (although that’s changed recently), making it seem like Porsche is encouraging you to just leave them alone and go for what has always worked. Also, the Panamera is the only F-segment saloon to still feature a manual.
And that’s odd, because Germany has to be one of the most automatic nations in Europe. Or at least much more that everything there is to the west and south of it, which if we are being honest is all that matters here. Their culture fits perfectly within all those new innovations and developments. They are, efficient and practical, they like everything being clean and perfect. And that is precisely all that bring the new generation of gearboxes. They make you car faster, and they make it more frugal and smoother. So it’s perfect. Only it isn’t.
But what’s even more weird is what happens if you take a plane and travel south to Italy. Now, I should explain that Italians (like all Latins, and especially the further south you go) were born with no brains at all and a big heart. As a result we don’t understand practicality, or sensibleness or efficiency. All that matters is that if something sets on our heart, then it goes without caring if it gives us all sorts of aches or if it breaks down or if it makes our lives difficult.
It’s also important to acknowledge that we aren’t able to grasp the concept of an automatic gearbox. We invited our friends from the north to a delicious meal and a glass of wine and we found that outside our lovely sunny countries people were buying them. And we thought, aha! We’ll make one and we’ll conquer the world. Only we didn’t because the thing kept breaking down, was jerky or changed gear slower than an American, or all of them and most of the time they are thinly disguised manual gearboxes. Being a lot poorer than those who mastered it didn’t help either.
And yet, these days it is impossible to get a Maserati with a clutch pedal and it’s increasingly difficult to find a Ferrari with one. Abarth is introducing new semi automatic transmissions fast, and the 500C is only available with it. Only Alfa Romeo seems to more or less resist and that must be because they can’t afford anything and anyway no one would buy it.
So it seems indeed that the world is upside down.
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Originally Posted by Revo
