No more manuals left in Audi's U.S. lineup

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No more manuals left in Audi's U.S. lineup

Post by Standardshifter »

"The manual transmission has been dying a slow death, gradually replaced by automatic and dual-clutch gearboxes. And the latest blow comes from Audi."

https://www.carscoops.com/2018/08/audis ... us-lineup/

Well, there goes Audi. What will 2020 bring?
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Re: No more manuals left in Audi's U.S. lineup

Post by Rope-Pusher »

"A car who's transmission does his shifting for him. Isn't THAT a fine Audi-Do?"

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Re: No more manuals left in Audi's U.S. lineup

Post by ClutchFork »

What puzzles me is that automatic transmission get harder and harder to drive over the years. You would think that alone would spur a return to manuals. I think that it is like dishwashers and other appliances. The EPA has gotten into the game and ruined them. I'll take an old vacuum modulated automatic over a computer run automatic anytime. At least you can somewhat control it and it does not do stupid shifting like most modern automatic do for me. As for the dishwasher, I bought a new one last February and it will not sufficiently dry the dishes, I guess because EPA thinks it is too much energy use.
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theholycow wrote:Why in the world would you even want to be as smooth as an automatic? Might as well just drive an automatic...
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Re: No more manuals left in Audi's U.S. lineup

Post by Shadow »

ClutchFork wrote: Sat Aug 25, 2018 3:06 pm What puzzles me is that automatic transmission get harder and harder to drive over the years. You would think that alone would spur a return to manuals. I think that it is like dishwashers and other appliances. The EPA has gotten into the game and ruined them. I'll take an old vacuum modulated automatic over a computer run automatic anytime. At least you can somewhat control it and it does not do stupid shifting like most modern automatic do for me. As for the dishwasher, I bought a new one last February and it will not sufficiently dry the dishes, I guess because EPA thinks it is too much energy use.
Gotta say.....I have a Jeep with the 8-speed ZF automatic and it's a fantastic transmission. Incredibly smooth to the point that the shifts are almost imperceptible. And because it has so many gears, it's always in the right gear for any situation. There's a readout in the instrument cluster to show you the current gear and I like to watch that now and again to see how the transmission behaves. It's a really great transmission. Super easy to drive with excellent programming.
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Re: No more manuals left in Audi's U.S. lineup

Post by potownrob »

Shadow wrote: Wed Dec 07, 2022 11:20 am
ClutchFork wrote: Sat Aug 25, 2018 3:06 pm What puzzles me is that automatic transmission get harder and harder to drive over the years. You would think that alone would spur a return to manuals. I think that it is like dishwashers and other appliances. The EPA has gotten into the game and ruined them. I'll take an old vacuum modulated automatic over a computer run automatic anytime. At least you can somewhat control it and it does not do stupid shifting like most modern automatic do for me. As for the dishwasher, I bought a new one last February and it will not sufficiently dry the dishes, I guess because EPA thinks it is too much energy use.
Gotta say.....I have a Jeep with the 8-speed ZF automatic and it's a fantastic transmission. Incredibly smooth to the point that the shifts are almost imperceptible. And because it has so many gears, it's always in the right gear for any situation. There's a readout in the instrument cluster to show you the current gear and I like to watch that now and again to see how the transmission behaves. It's a really great transmission. Super easy to drive with excellent programming.
many of the newer auto trannies are very good. these are, in my opinion at least, leaps and bounds better than the older transmissions, drivability wise at least. the 6 speed auto in my mazda may not have as many gears as the newer trannies, but it is one of the most direct feeling automatics i've ever driven. unlike older automatics, these trannies can make you forget they're there.
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Re: No more manuals left in Audi's U.S. lineup

Post by watkins »

The ZF 8 speed absolutely is not in the right gear in any situation. The shift strategy for deceleration keeps it in 3rd until a full stop, making accelerating from a near-stop frustrating while it hunts for and bangs in to 1st. Otherwise, it's absolutely a wonderful transmission, as far as automatics go.
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Re: No more manuals left in Audi's U.S. lineup

Post by Rope-Pusher »

I first noted the delayed downshift to first gear just a couple years ago, when the A-604 "Ultradrive" came out. It was my first time driving a vehicle equipped with this transmission, so I was paying attention to some things that may have been occuring on the 3-Speed TorqueFlite transmissions,....or maybe not, because they didn't have electronics controlling the shifting. Tummy, it seemed like the prime directive for automatic transmissions at "The Company Formerly Known as Chrysler" was that the driver should not be aware of any gear changes. I believe that was why the downshift from 3rd was delayed until the vehicle was motionless.
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Re: No more manuals left in Audi's U.S. lineup

Post by Shadow »

watkins wrote: Tue Dec 20, 2022 10:46 am The ZF 8 speed absolutely is not in the right gear in any situation. The shift strategy for deceleration keeps it in 3rd until a full stop, making accelerating from a near-stop frustrating while it hunts for and bangs in to 1st. Otherwise, it's absolutely a wonderful transmission, as far as automatics go.
Not so in my Jeep. The ZF8 is always in the right gear whether accelerating, coasting, or braking. Never bangs, always smooth, always ready to go. Keep in mind that the ZF8 is programmed differently for every make and model it's used in. And there's a lot of vehicles on the road using the ZF8. My only experience with this transmission is with Jeep and also with Mercedes.
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Re: No more manuals left in Audi's U.S. lineup

Post by watkins »

In the literal hundreds - thousands, perhaps - of ZF Mopar products I've driven, the rolling stop bump has been consistently evident. There are some exceptions here and there, but its a part of the whole shift strategy so those exceptions are very unusual. Some people just may not notice it, but I'm quite aware of the gear hunt and subsequent subpar shift.
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