Quote:
Originally Posted by MiamiFan13
Unlike people on this forum???? All I see is people looking for AWD models with autos. If BMW made 50% of these cars in manual, half these guys, and their wives, would be driving Audis.
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They will never make 50% manuals, there are not enough buyers.
The take rate of the manual gearbox is still kinda significant in certain markets such as the USA, though. If it wasn't for Americans, I suspect there would be no manual in BMW M cars and Porsches, for example.
F80 M3 6MT take rate was 19.4% worldwide; of those 5,426 6MT cars ever built were 4,548 sold in the USA alone (84%).
I suspect the numbers for this generation are going to be slightly lower as AWD now being available will sway some people over to the auto-only Competition model.
I agree in that the introduction of forced induction and - more recently - AWD attracted a new, different group of M GmbH buyers who prefer to go in a straight line rather than round a twisty road or a track. But the industry-wide battles in lap times and magazine acceleration times are also partially to blame here. With M cars pushing over 500rwhp now comes great demand for traction and you know how many people complain about traction or lack thereof on the F80 and F10M boards.