Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Morgan Three Wheeler & Super 3 The unthinkable....

There was an article in Autocar fairly recently debating the demise of the manual gearbox. They stated figures showing that the majority of sports cars now are ordered with auto boxes and that there is an increased take up of autos generally.

Personally I'd not like an auto in a Morgan apart from an Aero....I was impressed driving the Coupe with that fitted, it suited the car.

I was "anti" autos until I moved to Aus. The modern ones are so much better than the older ones.

Yes, they are

It's just a matter of time that manual boxes will eventually become a thing of the past - even for the traditional Morgans (and their owners) for whom the manual transmission has become the unwritten expectations of those vehicles.

Already leading the way is the new +8 with the same 6-speed ZF box as fitted to the Aero range. And what a beast that [car] is!!

Modern Autos are a big step forward it is true .However!!!!
They are very very complicated and incredibly expensive when they go wrong which they do on a regular basis.
The double clutch semi autos which all the manufacturers seem to offer now are not good with age and mileage.
electronic control failure and clutch /fly wheel failure is common and ridiculously expensive to repair.
A large number of gearbox repair centres now will not under take repairs on these boxes.
They require specialists and as such the cost is far greater.
Long live the simple and repairable Manual gearbox.

The original idea of the double clutch - called the PDK (Porsche-doppelkupplung) - was first developed [by Porsche] for use in their cars back in the 1980's. And as such, they are incredibly strong and equipped for high-performance driving. So successful was this idea that it was taken up by Ferrari and others for use in their cars. The PDK system is constantly under development (and has been since it was first introduced) and the current revision fitted to the Porsche 997 Series 2 is arguably the best yet! I haven't heard of them going wrong on a regular basis as you suggested.



Where did you get this info from? Those gearboxes are tough enough to withstand normal driving and the occasional spirited drive; but unless the car is regularly hammered around a racetrack (in which case you will need heavy-duty competition clutch components) you shouldn't have any problems.



Their days are numbered; so all hail the manual gearbox!

I think we may have lost sight of the original and secondary discussion here. It is not about how nice modern autos are to drive in the traffic conditions we have to suffer today, but about whether the M3W would benefit from and auto changer, and whether losing control of the CLUTCH and gearstick detracts from the skill and pleasure of the car.

Forget all that stuff about torque converter boxes, it's a red herring, the only box that would work in the Three Wheeler [if at all] is a manual box with a computer operated clutch and flappy paddle changer, additionally, as with all this type of box, they can be operated in a fully auto mode, determined by the ECU.

Additionally, given that the Three Wheeler is going to spend very little time in traffic, as its' raison d'etre is as a sports car, for driving pleasure, then all that BS about making it easier to drive isn't relevant.

Personally, I love auto boxes, but in the right car, and if a car styles itself as a car to drive for sport, then part and parcel of the experience is changing gears with a clutch, surely? Otherwise, why have one?

Yes, you're right. I was just responding to a question about the supposedly high cost (?) of a PDK repair...



That's debatable, considering that the gearbox intended for one engine has to be re-mapped to suit another with the substitution of a new torque converter to retain that power curve ...



How about the auto box option as fitted to the MX5? It's a full conventional auto with the selector lever on the central tunnel. I'm also thinking that if an M3W has been ordered with a slip ring behind the steering wheel (for removal to make it easier getting in- and out of the cockpit) maybe it's not such a bad idea if this [auto box] was deemed to be a better and more cost-effective alternative to a paddle shift because of it. The paddles will still be in the way regardless of whether the steering wheel was removed or not...



You can still use the auto selector and drive the car manually.

Top end premium sports cars may be more reliable,however the main stream manufacturers products on the whole are very poor. IE Audi Ford and the French.

"You can still use the auto selector and drive the car manually".

That's the whole point isn't it, no clutch = no skill required?