Then consider me retarded

 

That has already ben considered JC.

Modern barges like these M5's have been designed for a DCT box, and as the dude says, a manual compromises the car.

I'm all for manuals, obviously. But when the head of BMW-M is saying he doesn't want a manual, there will be a damned good reason.

 

lol love the new sig

i suppose something this heavy gives shit dynamics no matter the tranny

 

I'm sure we're all aware that a manual will never be faster than the double clutch, pdk, dtc, gtc, dtr, dtg, vtg, pos, trsh, dctg, tcr(or whatever other acronym you can think of for AUTOMATIC). Yes, that's obvious. But the thing is, why is such a minor performance improvement so important? 99% of the time you aren't going to be able to use your sports car to its full potential, so why would slightly faster 0-60 times and gear changes matter? So if you wouldn't be able to use all the performance in the first place, wouldn't you rather driver a lighter manual transmission car, and have a lot more fun doing it?

The only time I could see paddles being justified is on the race track when every second counts, but then again, isn't the sole purpose of tracking your car to have fun?

 

problem is you're 14 and have never driven a car

kurt on the other hand has so his point carries weight.

 

I am not having a discussion with a 13 year old about this.

 

Hi,

You can understand his frustration, they develop and engineer an amazing DCT transmission, only to have to remove it and take steps backwards in order to please a single market.

I can't imagine the head of M division is the sort of person that likes to go backwards.

Cheers,
Nik

 

North America is the biggest consumer of BMW and M-products, so they should listen to what drivers want. Over the years these M have gotten heavier, bigger and lot's some of there overall driving appeal, like the E30 M3 E34 M5, the only thing BMW has done right is the new 1M! it would have been great to see a 3.5 NA motor that could produce 344hp just my thoughts

 

Hi,

I don't see how they aren't listening to drivers, if this article is anything to go by, they are forced to go against what they consider best due to market demands.

Half the crap that is making cars heavier, is definitely due to market demands.

Cheers,
Nik

 

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the ratio for the E60 SMG/ 6-speed would be 9:1 in favor of the SMG.

If that is the case ( assumption on my part ) it would seem like a waste of resources to please someone who would get the DCT anyway if that was the only option offered. No other car in it's segment offers a manual does it?