Challenger Powertrain Question - Part 2 - Transmission Selection

[rpmalerba]

To Mr MOPAR360. Very well put, nothing to add.

[hharper1321]

Yes, I would purchase a WELL MADE 5 speed autostick, as long as it doesn't have the problems that some DCX trannies are known to have (A604, 41TE, 42TE, etc....) and will handle at least a 15% upgrade over stock in HP and Torque. Although a SIX SPEED MANUAL would be my first choice!

[BJoe]

If it manually shifts like the A-413 in the '88 Shadow ES I used to have I'd be very happy, just don't do the 1-2, 3, 4 selections like in the CHerokees

[CHARGER_FAN]

Yes I would still buy a Challenger, regardless of the transmission...however, I would prefer a stick.

[ND RAM]

If they are havin such a hard time tryin to decide which to put in it why not make it an option like in the good ol days, before I was born but what the hell. I know alot of people want a AUTO-STICK and that's fine, to each his own, personally I want a 6-speed. I will definately buy a new Challenger if they put a stick in it, if they don't I'll wait and buy a used one. I just don't understand why the big 3 think that they have to make up everyone's mind for them, back in the late 60s & early 70s there were a ton of options. That alone led to some very cool combos.

$.02

[Mike Penner]

Actually from the looks of it very FEW people want an autostick. A number of people would put up with on though, but just as many wouldn't.

[kvette]

I am an automatic man, but I think that the car would be better served with a 6 speed manual! Make no mistakes I would still buy it with an automatic just the same, and think it should be offered as an option....

[mopar360]

Thanks, rpmalerba!

I have been a Mopar guy since my childhood days riding around in my dad's '64 Valiant w/pushbutton (that was a cool tranny idea) and '65 Fury w/318 (the original style, the one you could lock up with 7 cracked pistons, let it cool and then drive some more!). Buying the Goat was difficult for me, but V-8's w/big power and a clutch are hard to resist and the Viper is a little out of my reach.

From a manufacturer's standpoint, I understand fully why Chrysler wants to rely on the Auto-stick as a "one-size-fits-all" solution. They are harder to break (meaning they cost less warranty dollars), it is cheaper to build/buy 10,000 auto-sticks than 5,000 auto-sticks and 5,000 manuals (one product, one set of parts to assemble is always cheaper in the long run), and they think they can market to both the manual and auto crowds with equal acceptance (unfortunately a manual tranny guy will NEVER accept this product as a viable subsitute).

In many ways they are right. Since the inception of the modern automatic transmission, most consumers have been buying them. Even the old muscle cars had primarily automatics. On the whole consumers like the low maintenance (no clutches to replace) and the ease of drive (shifting in traffic can get annoying). As a couple of posters pointed out, at the strip you can often beat a guy with a manual tranny because of the precious microseconds lost in shifting. If you have a turbo car, the automatics are great because you keep the engine loaded (and the boost is constant throughout the shifts).

Sidebar: it is almost impossible to make a perfect side-by-side comparison of auto vs. stick at the dragstrip because there isn't a production car made that has a rear-end gear low enough to take advantage of all the gears in the transmission (at the end of the strip I only reach 3rd in the Magnum and 4th in the GTO). What you really want to do is to take advantage of all the gears so you can keep you car at the optimum hp range throughout the run, but then you couldn't drive the car on the street without running 5,000 RPM all the way to the 7-Eleven. Then of course there is driver ability, and an automatic can make even the worst drivers look pretty good. A manual will expose all of a driver's weaknesses - trust me, I've been there!

What we are saying is that we want a Mopar pony car that doesn't disappoint. I don't care if they offer a V-6 version. I don't care if they offer an auto-stick. I DO want at least one obtainable version that employs big power (425HP minimum) with a transmission that is fun to drive. The people buying this version will not care about gas mileage, nor will they care if they are a tenth slower at the strip than the auto-stick version. They want to upshift and downshift through a set of mountain curves, passing motorhomes with ease, knowing that when they get to the meet their Plum Crazy Purple (hint, hint, HINT) machine will attract all the attention. And when someone says, "Will it bark the tires?", you'll say, "Oh yeah!" Then they will frown and say with a wimper, "My auto-stick won't..."

[allhemi]

Originally Posted by kvette

I am an automatic man, but I think that the car would be better served with a 6 speed manual! Make no mistakes I would still buy it with an automatic just the same, and think it should be offered as an option....

I'm with you!!

[stibb]

Originally Posted by ekool

If you chose a manual transmission option in Question number 1, please fill out this survey as well.

If a 6-Speed manual Powertrain is not offered would you still purchase a Challenger?

No I would loose interest if it didn´t come with the six-speed. THat was one of all the MAJOR mistakes you did with the Charger; not offering a manual transmission as an option. WHY NOT?? I would still like the design and the overall idea of the car but it would become too half-hearted as a musclecar and that would irritate me everytime I drove it.
Musclecars should have a manual transmission as an option and the "manual shift" automatics doesn´t do it for me...not even close. I wouldn´t want to go through all the hassle it´s going to be to have it imported to Norway if I could only get it with an automatic tranny. It will loose a major part of it´s appeal to me without the manual option. We don´t spend as much time in traffic jams over here in Europe / Scandinavia as you do over there in the US .