Well I only drive a Mustang with an automatic that has sport mode everyday so what do I know. lol

 

Not really, not any more...

Go drive a new Corvette, it does the same thing as a F1 car, at least in track mode. In normal drive mode, yes it will shift for you, but you can force it to whatever gear you want.

For a normal GT, yes... I can see why that might be.

For a GT350/500? There should be a pure track mode in the automatic letting you force your gear.

If that is your experience with paddle shifters, then you need to drive some nicer cars.

 

Yes, but it doesn't have a 500HP supercharged engine.

If it did, you would be remiss in not having a proper track mode to the transmission allowing you to pick your gear and stick with it.

 

I'll get right on that nicer car thing lol. In the meantime I'm here to tell you guys that the sport shift mode in the Mustang is best used by leaving the gimmicky little button alone because it's useless.

 

Yes, but we're talking about the GT350/500, not the normal GT.

For $60-70K, there is no excuse for Ford to not be able to put in a proper transmission.

I'm not suggesting it should be in a 35K GT.

 

As a side note, my 2011 Ford Explorer had the same thing on the shift lever, I tried it a few times, and yes, it is useless.

It is put there by the marketing people to have something else to talk about, I suspect, and not much more.

The downside is that I think a lot of people have THAT experience and then assume all such autos work that way and that paddle shifters also all work that way.

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Perhaps what I should have said is that the new GT350/500 should have a semi-automatic transmission, or perhaps just a "automatic clutch". That might have been more clear...

 

If there is a different mode of operation for the high end cars like that I am not aware of it. I'm not saying there isn't one, but I have not seen it. The owners manual makes no mention of it and the owners manual covers all models of the car.

I've used sport shift mode plenty of times in my car. The first couple of times I used it I did like everyone else and pushed the little + and - buttons and felt like I was doing something. Then I wised up and just hammered the gas and let the ECU shift the car in sport shift mode. Guess what, it shifted harder and timed the shifts better than I ever could and I suspect that would be the case for nearly every person that drives these cars. Modern technology in these transmissions is pretty doggon good.

 

I'm not talking about the Mustang. I was talking about...in general. The 13-14 auto with button switches is...yes, garbage. But pretty much EVERY other current offering is better. The Ford and GM autos with button shifters are trash. GM *has* done some good performance autos, but they aren't in the Camaro, for sure.

 

Got it, I thought we were talking Mustang. In defense of the sport shift mode, it does improve the shifting, shifts harder and makes the car run out faster. But yes, the idea that using the buttons is doing something in the Mustang is just not true. It's just a gimmick.

 

The current auto tranny in the Mustang, I agree completely...

What I'm suggesting is that if Ford is going to build a $60+K GT350 to compete in the Corvette performance area, then it should have a transmission to compete with that.

The 8 speed automatic in the new 2015 Corvette is just such a transmission, it has proper sport and track modes and will hold whatever gear you tell it to, in the proper setting of course.

Of course it is in a $60K+ car, just like the GT350.

 

Agreed.

That said, the 11-14 6-speed auto really is a great transmission. It's bullet proof and even in full auto mode, the auto cars are faster than the manual cars. I'm not sure how the 2015 is, but the 6R80 is most likely software away from being an excellent auto-manual...

 

You keep bringing up formula one cars and comparing them to Mustangs.. As mentioned before, your comparing apples to oranges, rather than apples to apples, as there is no comparison between a Ferrari, Camaro nor a Lambo to a Mustang..

You've also brought up quite a few times by making the statement of not ever driving a formula one car..

Well here's my question for you.. have you ever driven one, or are you just going by what you read in car magazines ?

 

And here's another question for you.. Does the new 2015 Corvette have a limited production run ? I bet it doesn't !

 

Patrick ! Perhaps you can address this question for me.. Do you know if the auto cars in the 11-14 Mustangs are significantly faster over their manual counterparts or are they just faster by small margins ?

 

Driven one what? A Mustang or Lambo, or a F1 car? Yes to the former, of course no to the latter...

The nicest car I've ever driven was a Lamborghini Gallardo with the auto... I've also driven both the Camaro SS and the Corvette, as well as multiple Mustang GTs...

There are automatics, then there are performance care autos...

It is possible that we're talking past each other and that might be the source of the confusion. A few posts above, someone thought we were talking about the auto that is ACTUALLY IN THE MUSTANG right now, which of course we're not.

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So let me step back and make this clear, so that we aren't confused.

The auto that I believe should be put into the GT350/GT500 that is being developed is a semi-auto tranny:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrohydraulic_manual_transmissionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semi-au...c_transmission

There are many versions of this, some are actually manual transmissions that have an automatic clutch, others are automatic transmissions with torque converters that allow you to force the gear selection

Frankly, take the beautiful 8 speed out of the new Corvette (I've driven this transmission) and put it in the GT and I'd be a happy guy. That is a nice smooth tranny. It is a nice improvement in smoothness over the 6 speed, shifts faster too.

I brought up the Formula One because it has been suggested by you that the reason the GT350/500 has a manual is because it is meant for the track. Well, based on that example, I would suggest that is a poor reason for it. You further stated that the 2014 model was manual only. Well, yes it was, but F1 and other racing has been on some version of an automatic gear box for many years.

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Back to price... The Corvette and Dodge Hellcat are both in the $60-70K price range, both offer a nice 8 speed auto tranny, both are faster with the auto than with the manual.

My point is that in 2015, if Ford wants to come out with a $60-70K priced Mustang, it needs to offer something similar.

This is my opinion, if you disagree, then I fully respect that.

 

Honestly, I would say yes it is...

They will build as many as they can reasonably sell, but they aren't pushing production like they do with other cars.

It is a halo car, they don't want to be pushed into discounting, nor have dealer lots stuffed with them, so they want to make as many as they can reasonably sell for the asking price without having to incentive them.

Fusions and Mustangs? They'll make as many as they can sell, then some more.

 

Well the hearing is all different, from transmission to rearend, but typically at least 0.3-0.4 faster for an auto, stock for stock, mod for mod.

 

Patrick ! Thanks for confirming what I've suspected all along.. As 0.3-0.4 faster for an auto is so minimal that it's not even worth upgrading from a manual anyhow..

However I will say this.. When the time comes when I'm no longer able to drive a stick due to my knees giving out, then yes I'll have no other choice but to make the switch over to an auto.. But until then, I'll be holding onto my current 06 GT indefinitely

 

No disrespect taken ! Just as you posted earlier, this is nothing more than just having a friendly debate between fellow car enthusiasts..

I also need to clear what I said in an earlier post.. What I said in regards to the 2016 Shelby GT350 being built as a track/autocrossing car is concerned ? That was accurate, however what I said regarding that being the sole reason for not having the option for including an auto trans, was just an assumption and a guess on my part..

All I can tell you that is fact is this.. As far as I can recall, every Shelby GT350/GT500 from the original 65 - 2014 models were only available in manual transmissions as were all SVT Cobra models from 93 - 2004..

So again, this is also a guess on my part behind Ford and SVT's reason as well.. I'll also add that more than likely the bean counters over at Ford are just as responsible for using the same old excuse that it's just too costly to offer 2 different power trains for a non mass produced niche vehicle..

As for the different auto tranny's are concerned, other than the one's we've discussed at this point, I'm only aware of the Getrag system that's used in the current BMW M3 which includes Dual Clutch Technology.. So perhaps this is the Electrohydraulic semi-automatic your referring to

If not, then I really can't say I'm familiar nor have any knowledge as to how many different semi-auto's are in existence and how they differ from one another..

In addition, I've also heard rumors that GM and Ford are supposedly going to collaborate in developing an all new 10 speed automatic, as to whether it's going to include DCT/semi auto technology remains to be seen..

At any rate, whether any of us like it or not.. What we do know for right now is this, the upcoming Shelby GT350 will only be offered as a 6 speed manual..

 

I do agree. However, I'm considering an auto next time around, so I don't have to worry about my fiancée driving the car

Hopefully by then, she'll either have learned to drive stick to my standard, or the autos will be good enough that I won't miss stick. I'll probably have a stick car also, just to satisfy that itch, though.

And to the above^ I know I have seen a '68 GT500 with an auto...