No 6 Speed Manual for 2009 G8 GT

[Cake Eater]

Add me to the list of people who will NOT buy a g8 with an auto. I want a stick, pure and simple. Learned to drive on one, drove a motorcycle, and I will teach my kids to drive one. I find a stick more relaxing anyway in all but LA style stop and go driving.

So WAKE UP, Lutz. If you're people are reading this, give the die-hards an option to order a g8 gt with a stick. I'd order one now and be happy to get it six months from now. I would trade in my GP gxp in a heartbeat for one. I have always wanted a v8 with a stick. I couldn't care if the valets can't drive it...neither can car thieves...

Hey, right out of college back in the stone age I bought a Corsica with a five speed stick, used. Had the god-awful paint job painted for free cuz of a 'silent' recall...and drove it hard until the car had 155,000 on the clock. Never a problem, and it was the last GM car I had that I could shift myself. I don't mind an auto on a truck, but I want my cars to have a MANUAL SHIFT. Hear that Bob and Rick??????

Cake Eater.

[Pruettfan]

Not sure why this is such a shock to anyone. The fact is that 80% of Corvette Coupes are sold with automatics so why would GM bother to put a 6 speed in a GT G8? I will be surprised to see more than 20-30% of GXP's be sold with 6 speeds. While I prefer to drive a manual trans car autos are much easier to live with and that is why they will always sell better.

If the data showed that offering a 6 speed in these cars would improve sales GM would put them in them.

[mrgto]

Originally Posted by Pruettfan

Not sure why this is such a shock to anyone. The fact is that 80% of Corvette Coupes are sold with automatics so why would GM bother to put a 6 speed in a GT G8? I will be surprised to see more than 20-30% of GXP's be sold with 6 speeds. While I prefer to drive a manual trans car autos are much easier to live with and that is why they will always sell better.

If the data showed that offering a 6 speed in these cars would improve sales GM would put them in them.

And where are you getting this "data" from?

This should have NOTHING to do with Improving sales...in fact, you're only losing sales by NOT OFFERING the car with a manual tranny....and it DOESN'T cost a dime more in engineering because the car is already available with a manual in every other part of the world.

[asylum]

Originally Posted by mrgto

and it DOESN'T cost a dime more in engineering because the car is already available with a manual in every other part of the world.

not with active fuel management it doesn't

[xyagentguy]

I'm afraid to ask.. anyone know what kind of sales the G8 is experiencing? I wouldn't expect stellar with the economy/fuel prices, but a boy can be hopeful, no?

[salbracht]

Originally Posted by xyagentguy

I'm afraid to ask.. anyone know what kind of sales the G8 is experiencing? I wouldn't expect stellar with the economy/fuel prices, but a boy can be hopeful, no?

Sold 777 in March.
Peaked at 2126 in April.
Dropped to 1831 in May.
Dropped again to 1536 in June.

I don't remember what the sales estimate was for 2008 ... was it 30,000 units? I would guess by those numbers that we'll crack 20,000 units.

[TriShield]

Originally Posted by asylum

not with active fuel management it doesn't

Sure it does, Holden already sells this car without it and a manual.

Fact is, a manual will save more fuel than cylinder deactivation. It was a big waste of GM's time to make Holden put it on this engine for marketing purposes.

When G8s are averaging 16mpg putting out only 361hp when I'm averaging 16-19mpg on all eight cylinders all the time making 400hp there's something terribly off.

Chrysler offers the Challenger with a manual and it doesn't have cylinder deactivation, there's no excuse for GM not to do the same. Especially when Holden is already building this car with sticks on both the V6 and V8.

[TriShield]

Originally Posted by salbracht

Sold 777 in March.
Peaked at 2126 in April.
Dropped to 1831 in May.
Dropped again to 1536 in June.

I don't remember what the sales estimate was for 2008 ... was it 30,000 units? I would guess by those numbers that we'll crack 20,000 units.

Sales are cooling off. GTs are now available on all the lots here in the city and sitting. This car was hot for just a few months.

GM needs that GXP model sooner rather than later and they need to get the buzz back by offering a manual on both the V6 and GT. Ditto for the Ute too.

[nota]

Originally Posted by TriShield

Sure it does, Holden already sells this car without it and a manual.

Fact is, a manual will save more fuel than cylinder deactivation. It was a big waste of GM's time to make Holden put it on this engine for marketing purposes.

Fact is, according to these ratings, that Commodore SS 6.0 litre V8 automatics use less fuel than their manual counterparts

Official 'combined' ratings expressed in US mpg = 16.9 (SS 6-speed automatic) vs 16.4 (SS V8 6-speed manual)

Its a similar story with HSV 6.2 litre V8 (US mpg = 16.3 auto vs 15.4 manual)

Btw for both Holden and HSV the automatic variants are also slightly quicker

[SV6]

Originally Posted by TruckMan

Manual transmissions make up <3% of sales in vehicles that offer them. And they save maybe 1 or 2 mpg when you run the numbers. This isn't a huge deal for GM. Though I do feel sorry for those that want the MT because it's fun to drive. I think GM is weighing the costs vs rewards here and not seeing a legit reason. Aparently customer satisfaction is not a high priority for GM right now. Still no Nav or memory seats on the G8 either.

No manual is BS GM sells this car everywhere else with one so it is not like they have to spend money to build one.This also goes for other GM cars that are built on the same platform as there oversea cousins that come manual transmissions.Last I look your can buy most imports with a stick.Hey 3% is 3 % when you are losing sales.They should have had the base G8 with a stick to make a poor mans BMW.

[drees1]

It will be a G8 GXP with a manual trans. The automatic will be a much faster car.

[run&blade]

I enjoy driving a manual, I don't care if it is slower or uses more gas, I enjoy it.

IMO without a manual the G8 is no better then a Impala, just a generic family sedan. There is more to driving IMO then hitting the pedal to the floor. Having the automatic shifter where the maual should be is IMO proof that people are posers and want to look cool but don't really know how to drive a manual.

I will not buy it, end of consideration for me. It is just a minivan that doesn't hold as many people without the stick.

[red_rider]

Originally Posted by drees1

It will be a G8 GXP with a manual trans. The automatic will be a much faster car.

I honestly doubt there will be any significant difference in performance or mpg between auto and stick. At this point its essentially going to come down to preference in style.

[r8rs24]

this is seriously a deal breaker for me. went to go test drive one the other day. loved the interior and space and liked the engine but the transmission sucks. I hate auto. Thought about getting it anyways for a second but then got back in my other car and realized I would be miserable driving auto. and to pay an extra 6k for a little more hp and the manual transmission, not worth it. Rather get a new Camaro SS at that point. I like the G8 because of the 4 door but it's not that important that I would pay about 8-10k more for the g8 over the camaro.

[Thrash]

It's easy to see why 3% of all cars sold are manuals because the majority of cars produced don't have a manual option.
I have a 69 Camaro drag car and am building a 75 T/A with LS1 and 6-speed. I commute in a Mazda3 with 5 speed and may be looking for something to replace that car as my daily driver. I don't need another V8 but I certainly want a manual. The Mazda is too small for when I have people with me so I want something a little large. If I 100% need a manual with a smaller engine, then what GM choices do I have? Can I get a Malibu with a manual? No. The V6 with a manual option would be great on the G8. Not interested in an automatic. I do a lot of coasting so I'm hard pressed to think an automatic is going to get better mileage than a manual.