It seems like the cars that are making the best 0-60 times and burning up the drag strips are all automatics.
I think it's asking too much of the GT500 to top these best times when it only comes with a 6 speed (and has no launch control).
The days of the "slush box" automatics are long gone and today's automatic shifts better and quicker than any human can. However the manual tranny car will always be more fun to drive.

 

good point

 

Fast times are good. Fun times are better. :-)

 

ummm, the days of the slushbox are alive an well at Ford. When/if Ford gets a dual clutch automated manual you could say that.

 

Nahh, you're wrong. While there is always room for improvement the automatics today are better than the 6 speed manuals. All the reasons why a manual was superior to an automatic are all invalid now. Automatics even get better gas mileage.
The 6 speed is still WAY MORE fun to drive and I'll always prefer a 6 speed over an auto but I acknowledge how well an auto can perform.

 

I'm interested to see what Ford does to respond to the Z28 having an auto as an option. I think that alone will steal some cranky old men who want something with some power that isn't a Corvette to flog around on Sunday afternoons. We could conceivably see an auto being offered in the GT500 if that takes off.

 

Even with an auto the Z28 will still be unable to chase down the GT500. I wouldn't hold out for any kind of auto on the GT500 as there really is no point in it. Making a proper auto for the car that can handle the power reliably (100K miles)is pointless in a limited production car. The take rate for an auto on the GT500 would be something like less than 10%.

 

Good point. GM has the ability to drop it in without much work since the CTS-V already has it. Ford doesn't have that luxury.

 

Exactly! Building a trans to handle a lot of power in a light enough package would be very cost prohibited. They could engineer a beefy trans at the expense of weight = not good. Or build one out of stronger/lighter materials at the expense of cost = not good. It would take tens of millions of dollars to do for very little sales of an auto, and they wouldn't be able to spread the cost over multiple vehicle lines as no other vehicle makes that much power.

-You don't see the ZR1 with an auto, do you?-

 

Eventually, the manual transmission as we know it will stop to exist. It will likely evolve into an manumatic (more like an automatic manual) where you can shift with paddles up or down gear or let the computer do it for you, but no clutch pedal.

Automatic equipped cars are more consistent at the track than manual but the manuals are more fun to drive than automatic. Whichever choice makes you happy is the best choice.

 

Ummm, Ford has a dual clutch automated manual for sale right now on dealer lots all around this county in the 2011 Fiestas. It's just a matter of time before they start showing up in all other models, including Mustang (and top dog Mustang models, too).

 

Considering they are capping production and they seem to have no problem selling almost every GT500 they want to make i dont think they will see the need to respond.

 

That's the key. Besides, how much faster does it need to be for most?

 

Overall this is a tough issue to argue. I agree, the automatic transmission is going king in the U.S. Today's automatic market is better than it ever has been. I still consider dual clutch to be an auto so I roll in everything without a clutch pedal. There is a reason why Lamborghini no longer builds cars with manual trans. They just aren't selling any to the client they serve. Manuals are incredibly difficult to come by in anything these days. BMW is about the only company that sells a manual version of everything. They even start out the model as a manual, just like it should be. Lexus even nixed offering a manual in the IS350. Technology has proven its self ahem...GT-R. Though I think the GT-R rocks, and is incredible, I just die every time I see one because I know it is a car without skill. It has been bred into the model. The car is fast no matter who is at the wheel.

I've gone off target here but you guys see the point. While slowly some manufacturers are bringing back the manual, it just isn't selling. It's a sad era. More and more people are on the road today without the skills necessary to drive a manual. Some can be taught, some cannot. More that cannot or will not due to the fact that why shift when something else does it for you. Nowadays it does it better than it ever has. Even in non dual clutch, regular auto transmissions. CVT's? Yeah, belts in a transmission scare me. I'm analog, I like chains and gears.

I do agree that putting an automatic in the GT500 would be a waste. It's part of the exclusivity of the car. If you can't drive it you don't need it. The GT-R doesn't have that. ZR1, Z06, GT, Viper, they all stick to that homage at least. Most of the expensive Euro's are more prone to have multi-clutch auto transmissions. Hell, for most they probably see it as a best of both worlds, it's faster shifting, doesn't have a clutch and I can put it in full auto when I don't want to use the shift mechanisms. Too easy drill sergeant, too easy. Don't get me wrong, I respect all of this technology. That doesn't mean that I want it. Even the military has changed out their vehicles to become all automatics. If it isn't push button by now, it will be. This was done because they didn't want to teach new recruits how to drive a stick and most people already knew how to drive an auto. Even I drove some 4 speed 818's. The 16 speed air shift automatic in the 917's was replaced by the Allison "bus" transmission. It's an automatic world these days. Lets you spend more time on the phone!

 

If you define "top performance" as drag-strip then... maybe.

The rest of us who don't live like Vin Diesel a 1/4 mile at a time know even the fastest shifting automatic will get destroyed by a 6-speed manual on a road course. This won't change until a proper DCT is put in the Mustang.

I believe this fact was noted in the M3 vs 5.0 challenge, that the automatic would've constantly been in the wrong gear at the wrong time.

 

I agree with you, but when guys sit around a bar hoisting a few beers a lot of the car talk is based upon 0-60 times. While street racing is not a good idea, I'm sure many of us have had a few low level "go's". It's almost impossible to have a mustang a not have a few street battles. So my post is sort of geared towards that. There was a time that a manual was going to own an auto in that type of situation. But that is not the case any longer. To me it just seems wrong that a grandmother could beat your *** driving an auto. LOL

 

Not necessarily. Case in point the CTS-V. The auto CTS-V is faster in everything (nurburgring included) than the manual. My 2 cents on the bygone days is the manuals enjoyed the mechanical advantage of number of gears 5 or 6 speeds vs 4 also making possible lower rear end gears to keep the fuel efficiency as well (like my auto Z28 saddled to a 2.73 rear vs a manual SS's 3.42's). Nowadays the number of gears advantage is gone with both 6 speed manuals and auto's. I have no doubt a 3+1 speed auto in the CTS-V would get destroyed on a road course by a six speed manual but the six speed auto did beat it out. It has the same selection of gears comming out of the turns as the manual. An auto's biggest disadvantage IMO these days is weight but they seem to be making it up quite well.

I'd be willing to wager the reason ZR1's and Z06's have manuals only is weight (especially the Z06 given the CTS-V's higher HP), though in the ZR1's case holding up to 638 hp would be tough but doable and not light. With companies using independent trans companies (tremec,allison) or sharing (a la Ford and GM sharing R&D on six speed autos already) IMO I don't think the expense is as big of an issue as some would think.

 

When I was at the Caddi dealer they said the manuals were harder to come by (they had auto's on the lot). They said something like 80% of the V's sold are automatics. I dunno, guess the CTS-V owner can be texting while I'm struggling to keep it in my lane during our stoplight race??? I guess it is possible for ford to put an auto in the 500...it may help their sales? For a drag car I think it would help times, maybe they'll equip it with a steering wheel operated trans brake too.(sarcasm)

 

Bankers, Lawyers, Doctors, Investment bankers, etc. It's no wonder they sell more auto's. Kidding, but not really, it's just how the market is these days. No body wants to buy a manual anymore. Especially in a luxury car. Now look at Lambo and Ferrari.

Guess I'm too young (or naive) to know what a trans brake is. But I know what a stall converter is.

 

I know a guy with a congenital handicap who because of it cannot dive a manual transmission; he is very coordinated and can do many other things, but working a stick isn't gonna happen. Others suffer injuries or illness which prevent them from working a stick shift, so I wish that Ford would market an automatic GT500 so anybody who wants one could drive one.