Reasons for your choice of transmission....???

[Oregon]

Manual. All my BMW's have been manual, it's a tradition.

[mtla4]

Originally Posted by Balls

I would never choose a gearbox due to my commute, etc. If my commute was so long and annoying due to traffic I'd drive a beater, perhaps with an auto. Long commutes will eat your car alive with depreciation, higher insurance costs, etc--perhaps excessive fuel cost. What a waste. There are lots of fine older cars available to suit that nasty need, many of which would be much more fuel efficient too. The beater would pay for itself and save your precious 1 for happier driving...

Amen. To be honest if they only made the 135 with an auto tranny I would have skipped. Like the IS-F and AMG cars. Not for me. Performance cars +automatic=shouldnt be in same sentence. I know dragsters etc but still.

[TagMan]

Well, it's pretty clear that most members that posted so far are going with the stick and prefer to row through the gears.

One strange thing I noticed is that many of those going with automatics sound as though they somehow need an "excuse" for having chosen an automatic. There cerainly shouldn't be any "shame" associated with the autotranny... does it seem like an automatic is a cop-out?... a second-tier choice? Even by some of those that have chosen it????

[changed]

i have auto.....

mainly because im too lazy to change gear!

hence my model, at the time of ordering the only auto available in the uk was the 120.

as far as paddles go, have never owned a paddle car, but i would have spec'd them if available.

i believe the 123 in the uk will have paddles.

[imported_Gene]

Originally Posted by warmtoes

Gene, that's a replica Cobra right? Is it an AC?

It is a Superformance Cobra with an alum. Shelby side oiler 427 stroked to 484ci. making 550hp. The Vette is camed and supercharged making 585rwhp or almost 700 fly wheel hp.

[warmtoes]

It is a Superformance Cobra with an alum. Shelby side oiler 427 stroked to 484ci. making 550hp. The Vette is camed and supercharged making 585rwhp or almost 700 fly wheel hp.

Your not into performance cars much are you Gene? :biggrin:

[MZWIE]

This is very interesting. When I bought my 330ci back in 2001 most people wanted the step. You saw very few ci's with MT.

I didn't need an excuse for buying a step. I merely wanted one this time. The 1 is used for commuting.

When I really want to get my fix I take out my 914-6. That car has what an MT ought to be. Even after 38 years very few cars come close to it.

[white911]

Interesting thread -- I prefer the manual as well and this is my daily driver/commuter car. I like the manual in traffic - I used a 911 as my daily driver/commuter car into Crystal City (inside Washington Beltway) every day for a few years.

Sally has always driven a stick.

Both Porsches and the Audi are also manuals; only the Avalanche is an auto. While true that turbo cars are now generally slightly quicker in a drag race, it does not work out that way on the race track. I have taught in cars equipped with these ZF transmission and there are many nuances of the system that must be overcome as well as new skills, like left foot braking. The torque converter also presents a special challenge for planned as well as downshifts upshifts. The switchology of the paddles includes debounce logic that prevents you from cycling the switch too rapidly. They really are harder to drive well on the track.

On the other hand, the only car I was fortunate enough to have driven on the track with a DSG/SMG-like gearbox, Ferrari Challenge Stradalle, made me want to have such a gear box in all my cars. One of my friends has a 355, with a six-speed and I asked him why he chose that box. He relayed that, it was better for street driving then the sequential F1 box. I understand that the BMW box is even better then the Ferrari version and if that were available it would have made my decision harder.