"Crocodile tears have been shed over Acura's decision not to offer a manual transmission. But with Acura forecasting sales of about 4,000 TSX wagons a year, and fewer than 3 percent (!!!) of sedan buyers choosing the manual, the company could not justify the investment to satisfy the 100 to 150 Americans who might buy one."
It makes me wonder how many 2004 TSXs came with the six-speed manual. I may have a rare car!
I 'm pretty sure that over 2 years Mazda only sold 10k units of my Mazdaspeed 6 precisely because it only came with a manual 6 speed tranny. And it's why I like Mazda. They'd rather not sell a car than make it boring.
ReplyDeleteIt's a pretty rare one... I've only seen 4 or 5 on the streets since I bought it.
I love the sleeper factor of it and I do enjoy the look of surprise on other driver's faces in my rear-view mirror when I smoke them on the on-ramp grand prix. The torque on that car makes me grin every. single. time.
@F1O: God, why are we so manual transmission-phobic?
ReplyDeleteIf you want to drive a stick in 20-30 years you have two options: Start saving now so you have enough to pay through the nose for a car from a niche manufacturer or buy one now and put it in storage until then.
ReplyDeleteIf you ask for my opinion on which car to store for the next 20-30 years, I woud say an S2000.
@F1O: Coincidentally, the gear shift knob on the S2000 is the same as the one on the TSX. Except the TSX's lettering is red and the S2000's is black.
ReplyDeleteI'd find it very difficult to store an S2000 for 20-30 years without wanting to take it out every time the sun came out...
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