2K1SunsetSS

Or even the malibu.



What does Chevy offer for the family guy(or single guy) that wants a fullsize sedan and wants to row the gears?

91_z28_4me

B/c it isn't profitable to engineer and sell at the volumes that people are willing to buy. Name a midsize/fullsize non luxury car that you can get a stick in.

dav305z

I agree - it stinks. The early W-body's had manuals I believe. Would it have been that expensive to develop a manual that could handle the 3800's torque? Imagine how incredible the L67 powered cars would have been if mated to a sweet 6 speed.

Honda Accord, Nissan Altima, (until recently) Nissan Maxima, VW Passat, Mazda6.

2K1SunsetSS

Honda Accord.

91_z28_4me

All of the top engines? Or just the base 4 cylinders?

dav305z

Top engines, save for the Passat.

Robert_Nashville

Manual transmissions are well on their way out - the trend has been going that way for years now and when given a choice, most people choose an automatic.

I don't have the stats in front of me but the last time I saw them I was amazed at how very few manuals are sold any more...even in vehicles where manual trans are somewhat traditional, such as sports cars, are increasingly being sold with automatics.

Bottom line is, it's expensive to set-up an assembly line to offer choices that most people don't want.

flowmotion

It seems like Honda, BMW, VW have a dedicated manual fan base so I doubt they will stop making them any time soon.

A manual sedan driver wouldn't even bother visiting the GM dealer, because its not a product they have offered on a consistent basis.

mdenz3

I think the GTP/Impalla SS would have jumped all over a manual option.

dav305z

GM's lack of manual transmissions reveals there remains work to be done on globalizing the company. It's true that there is no profit motive for designing a manual transmission for the American market. The same argument holds for building a class leading American compact car.

The foreign models I mentioned have manuals because they are global vehicles that also sell in countries where manuals still dominate. Selling these cars with manuals costs Honda and VW nothing.

As GM is becoming more globally efficient, I'd like to see the windfalls reach the consumer. That is, not only should GM be global to save money, but also to offer us products and features we'd otherwise not see. The most obvious examples of that are Saturn and the Pontiac G8. I want more. In Epsilon II there should be no reason for the 9-3 to have a manual, but not the G6.

Mustang Killer57

GM doesnt offer manual trans in full size (fwd) cars for the same reason they couldnt offer v8's in the 90's lumina/gps or 00 impalas.. The fwd trans they have cant handle the power. Even the automatic in the L67 equipped cars is barely adiquit. With huge loads of torque control added to the programming. The larger trans from the caddies was to big for the w-body platform also I believe.

DOOM Master

I bought a brand new 2007 Ford Focus wagon (it's my work car, don't laugh) because of one simple reason: The only vehicle I could get at the Chevy dealer with a manual trans was a HHR or Cobalt.

The Cobalt was too small to carry all the parts I have to carry with me and the HHR was pretty much impossible to find with a manual that didn't have to be ordered and cost me $19K.

My first idea was to buy a Malibu Maxx with a 4 cylinder and 5 speed. There is no such thing. Cobalt doesn't have a wagon body. I went over to the Pontiac dealership and looked at a Vibe, but I really didn't want a Toyota in Pontiac badging (I REALLY hate Toyota).

So I ended up at the Ford dealership. Got a killer deal on the wagon, got my 5 speed manual. And 22K miles later, I'm still happy with my purchase. I still don't see why people like autos so much, but I guess since I've been driving manuals since I was 16, it's kinda hard to want an auto.

Eric Bryant

True - I seem to recall that the G6 uses a different floorpan than the previous-gen Malibu and Aura to accommodate the manual.

Manuals may not be popular over here (they're less than 5% of sales in most market segments), but they make up more than 85% of sales in Europe and Asia. It's damn easy for automakers which are well-established in those markets to provide sufficient volume to the US market (many of those OEMs in fact manufacture their own manual transmissions), where as companies like GM lack the capacity to provide such an option.

tls2000

GM did offer a stick on the 2006 G6 GTP and 2007 G6 GT (w/Performance package), but they discontinued it. The transmission they used was taken right out of a Saab and it sucks.

5thgen69camaro

Speaking of globalizing and non luxury high powered manual full sized sedans, what about G8?