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      06-21-2012, 10:01 AM   #61
jphughan
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Drives: '16 Cayman GT4
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Austin, TX

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Quote:
Originally Posted by barcius View Post
It is funny that Americans judge themselves "hardcore" manual transmission fans, but actually Europe has a much higher manual transmission mix than the U.S. where most countries they would not even allow you to take the driver's license test in an automatic car. The only reason people say they demand a manual here is not because they actually prefer the manual transmission, but because they either let themselves get influenced by stupid car magazines or because they want show off their friends they are "hardcore" car enthusiasts....DSG is the future and provide the same driving pleasure of a manual transmission...
I agree with the part about it being funny that Americans think they're hardcore for being able to drive stick when the entire rest of the world can, but saying that people only buy stick for the image it conveys -- really?? That might be an added bonus, but I highly doubt that's the main reason for people's decisions.

And sorry, DSG/DCT/PDK etc are all very good and highly impressive engineering achievements, but they don't provide the same enjoyment. Sometimes constant perfection can be addictive and awesome, but other times there's a lot more fun to be had in relentlessly pursuing the perfectly smooth upshift or heel-toe rev-matched downshift executed by YOU every time, and feeling like a hero on the few occasions where you get it exactly right. It's like the joy of learning a craft, where you get more out of it as you invest more time and effort into it. My M3 is my first manual transmission car and I don't see myself going back any time soon. Just my 2 cents.
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'16 Cayman GT4 (delivery pics, comparison to E92 M3 write-up)

Gone but not forgotten:
'11.75 M3 E92 Le Mans | Black Nov w/ Alum | 6MT (owned 5/2011 - 11/2015)
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