BMW Has Sold Only 2 Manual Gearbox Z4s In Australia Since 2019
For everyone wondering why the Mk5 Supra has yet to get a manual transmission option, here's something that might justify Toyota's decision. After selling the Z4, its mechanically-similar cousin, for two years, BMW Australia has only sold just two (!) with a manual gearbox. As a result, they will be axing the manual option in the country entirely.
BMW began offering the six-speed manual transmission for the Z4 in 2019. It was only available on the base sDrive20i, which was powered by a turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four that made 194 hp (197 PS / 145 kW) and 236 lb-ft (320 Nm) of torque. Power was sent to the rear wheels only, and 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) could be achieved in a respectable 6.8 seconds, 0.2 seconds slower than with the automatic transmission.
"As only two examples of the BMW Z4 sDrive20i fitted with the manual transmission have been sold since launch in [the first quarter of] 2019, BMW Australia has made the decision to remove this variant from the line-up from the July 2021 production month," a spokesperson for BMW Australia told CarAdvice. "However, the Z4 sDrive20i is still available with the eight-speed Steptronic Sport transmission."
This take rate of just two cars over two years actually makes this one of the rarest BMWs ever sold in Australia, as its sales amounted to just 0.54 percent of all 371 Z4s sold there. Now, after this and the outgoing M2's end of production, the M3 and M4 are the only BMWs still readily available with three pedals in Australia (the 118i hatchback and 218i Gran Coupe still offer them as a special order option).
Link: https://www.carscoops.com/2021/07/bmw-kills-manual-transmission-z4-in-australia-after-selling-just-two-since-2019/
We shall mark the whole of Aussie nation down as unenthusists.
Quote from: Galaxy on July 20, 2021, 10:41:10 PM
We shall mark the whole of Aussie nation down as unenthusists.
May they be penalized with electric cars. ;)
Pretty much only enthusiasts buy manual transmission cars in the BMW price range and they don't want to be stuck with the base engine. They might as well sell Corvettes with a diesel engine and square wheels and say nobody wants to buy Corvettes.
Quote from: RomanChariot on July 21, 2021, 10:02:43 AM
Pretty much only enthusiasts buy manual transmission cars in the BMW price range and they don't want to be stuck with the base engine. They might as well sell Corvettes with a diesel engine and square wheels and say nobody wants to buy Corvettes.
Diesel Audi R8, anyone? :lol:
https://www.carscoops.com/2021/07/this-shop-is-building-a-diesel-powered-audi-r8-but-is-still-undecided-on-the-engine/
Quote from: RomanChariot on July 21, 2021, 10:02:43 AM
Pretty much only enthusiasts buy manual transmission cars in the BMW price range and they don't want to be stuck with the base engine. They might as well sell Corvettes with a diesel engine and square wheels and say nobody wants to buy Corvettes.
I was going to say something similar. The number would be much higher if Aussies could have the top engine with a stick.
BMW only sold 371 Z4s in Australia. It would be interesting to see the breakdown by engine.
Quote from: RomanChariot on July 21, 2021, 10:02:43 AM
Pretty much only enthusiasts buy manual transmission cars in the BMW price range and they don't want to be stuck with the base engine. They might as well sell Corvettes with a diesel engine and square wheels and say nobody wants to buy Corvettes.
Yup. Pair the enthusiast transmission with the unthusiast base engine. Seems to happen pretty frequently.
Maybe the typical BMW Z4 buyer is like a Jaguar F type buyer. The take rate for the F type manual transmission was 4% before Jaguar decided to axe it. Maybe the heel-toe crowd, if looking for a luxury convertible roadster, would get a Porsche Boxster.
Quote from: veeman on July 21, 2021, 09:12:21 PM
Maybe the typical BMW Z4 buyer is like a Jaguar F type buyer. The take rate for the F type manual transmission was 4% before Jaguar decided to axe it. Maybe the heel-toe crowd, if looking for a luxury convertible roadster, would get a Porsche Boxster.
Another example of fitting the enthusiast transmission only to the base engine.
Or maybe the enthusiasts who buy the Z4 are happy with the inline-6 and the 8-speed automatic? ;)
I get the "fun factor" in rowing your own gears, but I am willing to bet that a lot of these Z4 inline-6 / 8-A/T owners were once diehard manual guys who test drove the Z4 with the 8-A/T and ended up liking it for whatever reasons. And maybe they own other, older cars with M/Ts where they can engage in shift orgies. :lol:
I wonder if the two people in Australia who bought the Z4 with the M/T were to cheap to order the A/T. They must be Germans! Buy an expensive car but cheapen out on some options for financial reasons; so German. :thumbsup:
More and more I've noticed "enthusiasts" not buying new cars at all; and not because of the price either. They're buying good older cars at high prices.
Quote from: Soup DeVille on July 23, 2021, 02:39:12 PM
More and more I've noticed "enthusiasts" not buying new cars at all; and not because of the price either. They're buying good older cars at high prices.
Because newer cars are increasingly less engaging and fun to drive.
Quote from: MX793 on July 23, 2021, 03:06:25 PM
Because newer cars are increasingly less engaging and fun to drive.
Yes, that's a big part of it.
Maybe the ZF 8 speed is actually really good
Presumably, the non stick have paddle shifters.
Quote from: Soup DeVille on July 23, 2021, 02:39:12 PM
More and more I've noticed "enthusiasts" not buying new cars at all; and not because of the price either. They're buying good older cars at high prices.
Quote from: r0tor on July 23, 2021, 04:31:16 PM
Maybe the ZF 8 speed is actually really good
Enthusiasts have been like that for some time. Yes, sometimes it's because we/they also tend to be cheap, but Jesus, the new M3/M4 dropped its DCT for a slushie, and it starts in 2nd gear for launch control :fuckthatshit:
But also, turbo motors, which pretty much power most enthusiast vehicles these days, usually really really REALLY sorta suck. From lousy sound that needs all sorts of fakery to make it less lousy to terrible response with a M/T baring goofy-ass $$$ reach-arounds like electric supercharger to VG vanes to twin turbos.
Quote from: MX793 on July 23, 2021, 03:06:25 PM
Because newer cars are increasingly less engaging and fun to drive.
One gets the feeling that newer cars are designed to fulfill quotas like emissions, CO2 etc. instead of actually the wants and needs to consumers.
With the whole EV route it's only going to get more dull and boring. :cry:
Let's face it though, manuals were on the way out decades ago. Manuals were better for fuel economy, but that's turned the other direction. Manuals are cheaper to maintain(?) but if no one buys them then they get more expensive to produce parts for...
Plus you can play pretend race car driver my wobbling the shifter or pulling the "F1" paddles.
Quote from: AutobahnSHO on July 24, 2021, 08:42:11 PM
Let's face it though, manuals were on the way out decades ago. Manuals were better for fuel economy, but that's turned the other direction. Manuals are cheaper to maintain(?) but if no one buys them then they get more expensive to produce parts for...
ZF 8 speed is fill for life fluid... So basically maintenance free
Yep, manual transmission phase-out began in the 1950s with the first automatics. They were terrible, so the phase-out didn't hit high gear till the last '50s when Chrysler was the first to hit the scene with a usable, reliable, automatic (the TorqueFlight). Chevy and Ford would follow (albeit much later) by the mid '60s.
Quote from: GoCougs on July 25, 2021, 04:44:59 PM
Yep, manual transmission phase-out began in the 1950s with the first automatics. They were terrible, so the phase-out didn't hit high gear till the last '50s when Chrysler was the first to hit the scene with a usable, reliable, automatic (the TorqueFlight). Chevy and Ford would follow (albeit much later) by the mid '60s.
Are you forgetting about the
Hydra-Matic (https://www.autoweek.com/car-life/classic-cars/a30463122/selling-the-first-successful-automatic-transmission-gms-hydramatic/)?
Quote
In 1939, Oldsmobiles got the first automatics that really worked well. Everything changed.
The slushboxification of America began in the 1940 model year, when General Motors introduced the revolutionary new Hydra-Matic four-speed automatic transmission in Oldsmobile models (be sure to read Aaron Severson's definitive and thoroughly annotated history of the Hydra-Matic here). The Hydra-Matic wasn't the first automatic transmission, but it was the first affordable one that worked properly, and it changed the automotive world immediately.
Quote from: FoMoJo on July 25, 2021, 04:51:41 PM
Are you forgetting about the Hydra-Matic (https://www.autoweek.com/car-life/classic-cars/a30463122/selling-the-first-successful-automatic-transmission-gms-hydramatic/)?
No. I mean it worked okay but it was high maintenance, huge, heavy, complicated, expensive, didn't use a torque converter (rough shifting) and didn't have P position. The Chrysler TorqueFlight introduced the torque converter + 3 speeds + low maintenance + durability + excellent operation/performance + P. Plus it was smaller, lighter, less complicated and cost a lot less to produce. The combo of this would serve as the boilerplate for the GM TurboHydramatic and Ford C4/C6. All transmissions would be used into the '80s, and the core TorqueFlight design is still the boilerplate for today's automatics some 60+ years later.
Quote from: MX793 on July 22, 2021, 04:08:13 AM
Another example of fitting the enthusiast transmission only to the base engine.
I think the V6 with the supercharger also came with a manual, just not the V8.
Quote from: Raza on July 26, 2021, 10:41:43 AM
I think the V6 with the supercharger also came with a manual, just not the V8.
Pretty sure the F type V6 only came in supercharged form. Just two different power outputs.
It's time people admit there is more to a driving experience than a clutch pedal
Quote from: r0tor on July 27, 2021, 08:14:23 AM
It's time people admit there is more to a driving experience than a clutch pedal
True! If I was buying a Classic car that performed best with a manual I would definitely go with the stick shift. Other than that I'll take a good Auto/DCT......
I don't think I would have gotten my Alfa with a stick if it wad an option.
Once the Chrysler TorqueFlight hit the scene in the early '60s (and then later, the GM TH350/400 and FoMoCo C4/C6), the 4sp. manual was sorta a tough sell, esp. for drag racing, for they drove like a tractor, and were usually slower.
These days, turbo motors, which power most enthusiast cars, are sorta sucky with M/T, save for the fanbois who roll in the mess of turbo lag and love it (i.e., WRX).
Quote from: Gotta-Qik-C7 on July 28, 2021, 03:39:45 PM
True! If I was buying a Classic car that performed best with a manual I would definitely go with the stick shift. Other than that I'll take a good Auto/DCT......
If it was a boulevard cruiser, '60s Pontiac Parisienne convertible, etc., no need for a stick. If it was a '60s GTO, definitely a stick. When you were lined up at the stop light, you'd want to be able to blip the throttle which doesn't work so well with an automatic.
In the sixties and seventies, the GM Power Glide was the drag racing transmission of choice. I loved it in my 1964 Chevy.
Quote from: JWC on July 30, 2021, 09:32:08 AM
In the sixties and seventies, the GM Power Glide was the drag racing transmission of choice. I loved it in my 1964 Chevy.
Still is!
Quote from: FoMoJo on July 30, 2021, 12:47:17 PM
Two speed.
And easy to rebuild. My uncle and I rebuilt his in his 1965 Impala.
Quote from: JWC on July 30, 2021, 09:32:08 AM
In the sixties and seventies, the GM Power Glide was the drag racing transmission of choice. I loved it in my 1964 Chevy.
Was that a 2-speed A/T transmission? How did it drive?
Once I met a journalist for Octane Magazine Germany who told me he once drove a 1960s Chevrolet Camaro with a 2-speed automatic transmission and he said the car was a total dog. :mask:
In its heyday the PowerGlide was not fast. Only two gears and the heavy vehicles of the day, yet still geared to travel on the freeways, it couldn't be. But it worked well, was drivable and reliable, and GM sold millions of them.
In more modern times when used as dedicated drag race tranny, the PowerGlide requires all sorts of rework such as a super loose converter (like 4,000+ RPM stall) which makes it unusable on the street. It is also usually accompanied by drag radials (with super flexible sidewalls such that tire diameter, and hence gear ratio, increases with speed). The effect of all these things is the modern drag race-dedicated PowerGlide is in effect a two step race-only CVT, and not simply a two speed transmission.
The Turbo 350/400 3 speed transmissions were a huge upgrade for street driving. (Same as the 700R4 4 speed was a huge upgrade for highway driving, with it's overdrive 4th)
Powerglides are still used frequently for drag racing, but really only in track-only cars with big power and drag slicks.
Quote from: GoCougs on July 31, 2021, 02:29:20 PM
In its heyday the PowerGlide was not fast. Only two gears and the heavy vehicles of the day, yet still geared to travel on the freeways, it couldn't be. But it worked well, was drivable and reliable, and GM sold millions of them.
In more modern times when used as dedicated drag race tranny, the PowerGlide requires all sorts of rework such as a super loose converter (like 4,000+ RPM stall) which makes it unusable on the street. It is also usually accompanied by drag radials (with super flexible sidewalls such that tire diameter, and hence gear ratio, increases with speed). The effect of all these things is the modern drag race-dedicated PowerGlide is in effect a two step race-only CVT, and not simply a two speed transmission.
Nice info! Thanks!
Quote from: MX793 on July 26, 2021, 06:06:42 PM
Pretty sure the F type V6 only came in supercharged form. Just two different power outputs.
That might be right, yes. But I think both the base and the more powerful model had manuals available. So base engine only, but not base model. Guess that's at least a partly semantic difference.
Quote from: r0tor on July 27, 2021, 08:14:23 AM
It's time people admit there is more to a driving experience than a clutch pedal
Of course there's more.
It's also time to admit that it's okay to want a manual because that's just what you want. No justification needed. No magazine racing. No bench racing. No "race technology". No launch control. No quoting how much faster it shifts. If you want a yellow car, people shouldn't jump up and down on you like "Cars don't need to be yellow anymore to be fun". People like what they like and if it's different from what other people like, those people need to grow up and deal with it. And it's also time to admit that you just don't want a manual if you don't want it. That's okay too. Just don't act like you're some fucking prophet for wanting to drive an automatic.
I still own a manual. It's doesn't make anything better.
Another requirement for drivers of today is that one hand must always be available to fiddle with their phones. Having to shift gears would interfere too much.
Quote from: r0tor on August 01, 2021, 01:42:17 PM
I still own a manual. It's doesn't make anything better.
Okay.
Rare 1991 30SL R129 with a 5-speed manual. To my knowledge there are only 5 of these in the entire USA.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_Elf0SqHDE (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_Elf0SqHDE)
It seems like there are more 5-speed 300SL's here...I've seen a few up close and in person. The numbers are definitely low though.
Quote from: Submariner on August 02, 2021, 12:12:40 PM
It seems like there are more 5-speed 300SL's here...I've seen a few up close and in person. The numbers are definitely low though.
I would honestly never get one. These days I prefer automatics by far over manuals, but I can see the appeal of a manual sports car / Grand Tourer. However, Mercedes' manual transmissions from this era are so rubbery with horrid shift patterns and vague clutches, too. Terrible stuff in terms of refinement and "fun".