Page 1 of 1

Why doesn’t Subaru offer an automatic in the 2015 WRX STI?

Posted: Tue Feb 25, 2014 1:22 pm
by Standardshifter
Interesting media article on a car that only comes with a manual, and why:

"In an interview recently with Motoring.com.au, Subaru’s WRX project general manager, Masuo Takatsu said the brand’s performance fans “simply aren’t interested” in an automatic in the higher output STI."

Of course, the real issue may be the carryover engine. Curious in a few years when the STI switches to the 2.0L if a CVT suddenly appears.

http://www.torquenews.com/1084/why-does ... 15-wrx-sti

Re: Why doesn’t Subaru offer an automatic in the 2015 WRX ST

Posted: Tue Feb 25, 2014 5:53 pm
by Boston Fit
That's weird because you would expect WRX and STI consumers to have similar preferences as far as transmission is concerned, yet the new WRX has gone from being manual-only to offering both transmission types.

Re: Why doesn’t Subaru offer an automatic in the 2015 WRX ST

Posted: Tue Feb 25, 2014 11:18 pm
by Rope-Pusher
Boston Fit wrote:That's weird because you would expect WRX and STI consumers to have similar preferences as far as transmission is concerned, yet the new WRX has gone from being manual-only to offering both transmission types.
Amish and Mennonite?

Re: Why doesn’t Subaru offer an automatic in the 2015 WRX ST

Posted: Wed Feb 26, 2014 12:44 pm
by ClutchFork
I really like when there is a vehicle that is manual transmission only. The Viper comes to mind, and some of the highe end performance Mustangs. We need more manual only cars.

Re: Why doesn’t Subaru offer an automatic in the 2015 WRX ST

Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2014 8:54 pm
by Boston Fit
InlinePaul wrote:We need more manual only cars.
Yes we do, but that's like saying we need more perfect people in this world. I would settle for merely good people, and merely manual cars :-)

Re: Why doesn’t Subaru offer an automatic in the 2015 WRX ST

Posted: Mon Mar 17, 2014 7:37 pm
by Shadow
Standardshifter wrote:
"In an interview recently with Motoring.com.au, Subaru’s WRX project general manager, Masuo Takatsu said the brand’s performance fans “simply aren’t interested” in an automatic in the higher output STI."
I don't buy that at all. Here's why: The overall take rate for manual transmissions has been hovering around 6 or 7 percent. That's obviously a low number, but lets look at a couple of specific cars that have a much higher take rate for manual transmissions. First, we have the FR-S/BRZ twins. If I'm not mistaken, these cars probably have the highest percentage of manual transmission for any car that offers both a conventional automatic and a manual transmission. I remember reading something like a 62% manual transmission take rate for both the FR-S and BRZ combined. I also remember reading that the E90 M3 has a nearly 50% take rate for the manual transmission (all of these numbers are for the N. American market only). Logically, I'd expect Subaru to be somewhere in the same ballpark if they offered the WRX with an automatic. The real question is if an automatic would cannibalize some manual sales or if it would simply simply open the WRX to new buyers who wouldn't have considered the car with a manual transmission. Don't look now, but there are LOTS of younger drivers who simply don't know how to drive stick and who don't have the desire to learn.

Re: Why doesn’t Subaru offer an automatic in the 2015 WRX ST

Posted: Mon Mar 17, 2014 8:11 pm
by monkeyhunk
Parents aren't raising children right any more. That's just one more symptom.

Re: Why doesn’t Subaru offer an automatic in the 2015 WRX ST

Posted: Mon Mar 17, 2014 10:45 pm
by Rope-Pusher
Fiat Abarth is now available with 6-Speed ATX for those that don't care to get baptized Amish.

I should look up what the take rate is.

Re: Why doesn’t Subaru offer an automatic in the 2015 WRX ST

Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2014 9:33 am
by Squint
Rope-Pusher wrote:Fiat Abarth is now available with 6-Speed ATX for those that don't care to get baptized Amish.

I should look up what the take rate is.
Please do. That would be an interesting number to see. Fiat 500s are slowly appearing around town. We have one Fiat "dealership" that is really just the end of a lot of a Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Eagle (it's been there awhile - I remember when Eagle was available). When I was working at the Toyota dealership and was able to see the monthly sales summaries for the state, they averaged less than 5 vehicles sold a month. I guess that eventually adds up to becoming visible around town. :lol:

Re: Why doesn’t Subaru offer an automatic in the 2015 WRX ST

Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2014 10:25 pm
by Tups
I have never understood the idea of pre-selected ratios and stepped shifting in a CVT. Doesn't that go against the whole idea of CVT, which would be parking the engine speed at the optimum rpm (e.g. peak torque) and keeping it there until the driver takes his foot off the gas pedal? That's how it worked in my snowmobile. Are they just ashamed?

Re: Why doesn’t Subaru offer an automatic in the 2015 WRX ST

Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2014 10:35 pm
by Boston Fit
From what I understand, CVT spooks many drivers through its lack of perceptible gear changes. Artificial stepped shifting (or whatever it's called) is therefore a transitional step towards consumer acceptance.

Re: Why doesn’t Subaru offer an automatic in the 2015 WRX ST

Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2014 7:28 pm
by Shadow
Tups wrote:I have never understood the idea of pre-selected ratios and stepped shifting in a CVT. Doesn't that go against the whole idea of CVT, which would be parking the engine speed at the optimum rpm (e.g. peak torque) and keeping it there until the driver takes his foot off the gas pedal? That's how it worked in my snowmobile. Are they just ashamed?
The reason they do that is because people like the familiarity of a conventional automatic---meaning the way that it shifts. I actually drove a 2013 Nissan Juke last summer and it shifted very much like a conventional automatic when using the shift paddles.

Re: Why doesn’t Subaru offer an automatic in the 2015 WRX ST

Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2014 11:02 pm
by Rope-Pusher
Squint wrote:
Rope-Pusher wrote:Fiat Abarth is now available with 6-Speed ATX for those that don't care to get baptized Amish.

I should look up what the take rate is.
Please do. That would be an interesting number to see. Fiat 500s are slowly appearing around town. We have one Fiat "dealership" that is really just the end of a lot of a Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Eagle (it's been there awhile - I remember when Eagle was available). When I was working at the Toyota dealership and was able to see the monthly sales summaries for the state, they averaged less than 5 vehicles sold a month. I guess that eventually adds up to becoming visible around town. :lol:
Well, from the production side, it's 2:1 in favor of the Amish.