Quote:
Originally Posted by Chuck33079
But if the Z platform is the only one using the manual, sales most likely won't be where they need to be to justify the tooling, etc. When they could use the manual on the G as well, they could spread the costs around. If it's gone for the G, it's bad news for the Z.
Z cult buyers were barely keeping this model on life support. They won't base a decision like this on the wants of a group who buys >5k cars a year. They want mass success, not something propped up by a very small group of enthusiasts.
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Sure, but look at how many other cars are out there in and around this segment that are using one-off transmissions. The Miata and the BRZ are two examples of this. You also have to look at the market mix. What was the take rate on the Z coupe as far as manual vs automatic? If it's larger than 30%, then there is your incentive to produce it. Sometimes you have to spend money to make money.
Also - where does the new Z coupe compete? Is it in the Miata/BRZ space? If so, you have to build a manual judging by the take rates in each of those cars (about 50% on average). Is it in the Camaro/Mustang space? If so, it'd be the only one offered without a manual if it went that route, regardless of trim. Is it a premium sports car offering like the Corvette and Cayman/911? Needs a manual.
I am one that agrees that automated dual clutch transmissions are where the future of speed lies in performance cars. However, we're not quite there yet with respect to adoption due to many external factors, but the main one is this - we may be the last generation of buyers that gives a **** about a manual transmission, and they gotta flush us out first. Right now, there's strength in numbers on our side.
Given that the transmission used in the new Q50/Q60 twin turbos is little more than the 7AT used on the M56/Q70 5.6 (needed to handle the torque of the new motor), there's room for an updated 6MT. We all know that the current 6MT can handle added power on the current Z. I don't see it as much of a stretch to R&D an appropriate bell housing and slap the current 6MT on either the 300hp turbo 6 or the 400hp turbo 6. They didn't go too crazy with the automatic, and that's where the bread and butter of Infiniti sales are.
Also - the take rate on the G was 5% or less (I read it in an interview a while back... I'll try to dig it up) and in the space that the G/Q competes, the manual option is borderline non-existent. They're not going to lose prospective buyers for this specific offering in the luxury sport space, but I see them losing prospective Z buyers if they do not offer one. Different demographic altogether.