I'm on dura ace di2 since 2 yrs ago. It's very durable, survived 2 crashes and work perfectly well.

 

Manufacturers have been making transmissions faster and more efficient than the driver for years - this is nothing even remotely new. I don't buy cars because they are the fastest thing on the road. I buy cars because they are fun to drive, and the transmission is a very important part of this equation to me. I've driven cars with dual-clutch automated transmissions before, I did not find the experience as fun or involved as a manual; in fact, they just seemed like a better automatic to me. If I wanted a car that let the computers work out my request to drive fast within the parameters of its programming, I would buy a GT-R. However, I prefer to work that out on my own, lack of driving skills and all.

Buy whatever you want. I'd at least like to have the option to have a manual transmission. Porsche was one of the last hold-outs to offer this to drivers like me who like a high level of involvement. The manual transmission in sports cars may be a thing of the past, and I lament the hell out of it.

In fact, not only is the lack of a manual option bothersome, it's also symbolic of where driver involvement is going on the whole. How long until we are no longer allowed to disable stability control? Remember old Audis with the ABS-off button? That went away pretty quickly. Hydraulic power steering is gone in Porsches (and the road feel didn't go unnoticed - Porsche spent years trying to tune the electric power steering on the GT3 feel like a 911, and it still doesn't - by most reports). Hell, even the throttle linkage is gone, replaced by drive-by-wire, which (by any measure) lacks the same throttle response as an analog throttle. Nearly every input will soon be a request to a computer rather than a direct control. While this may be fine in an appliance car, it saddens me to see this happen to cars that I am passonate about.

I wonder how long I can keep my old air-cooled 911 on the road? Given that cars are only getting faster and not necessarily more challenging or interesting to drive, the prospect of "forever" is starting to sound pretty sweet.

 

A different perspective: why is Road & Track apologizing? Do they really think their embracing of dual clutch transmissions a few years back influenced an entire industry. Is this the height of arrogance?

 

I think it is more like the height of "PLEASE NOTICE THIS MAGAZINE WHICH HAS BEEN LOOSING CIRCULATION". I imagine that if that continues, they will start apologizing to the world that Porsche was still selling manual transmissions in cars designed for highest performance.

 

Motor Trend just expressed similar thoughts on the demise of the manual transmission. The last sentence was quite telling.

A Viper was on the cover and with a manual transmission, had quicker times than a Nissan GTR or McLaren MP412C. Pretty cool.

I don't have much interest in the next turbo or GT3 because of the lack of a manual transmission (this is from someone who has bought 10 turbo's/GT3/GT2 in the last 15 years) so I may get a Viper or Stingray for a change. I know the next M4 will come in a manual too, so plenty of choices. My 458 is a Formula One racing fantasy, so DCT is ok, but Porsche for me is a daily driving real-life sports car, so manual is vital for my tastes.

Bottom line, we will all buy what we want in the end.

 

A Porsche is not about pure speed.

If someone wanted to go as fast as possible for a given budget, they would never buy a 911 to begin with.

 

That is why their slower cars still have a manual available IMO.

 

Great. Then I will just buy their slower ones and the money saved goes to other brands with manual transmissions.

 

I see a Chevrolet in your future...