25 Jun 2012 | Foreign News : Germany
With advances in technology and changing times, the 'term driving a stick' doesn't appeal to many as it used to, and BMW understands this well.
A four door sedan, a rear wheel drive platform, a manual transmission - A perfect cocktail recipe, and no one does it better than the German rear wheel driven 560bhp BMW M5 scud missile.
However with changing times, BMW has found out that most of their M5 customer base prefers driving an automated dual-clutch transmission than the good old traditional stick. Rumours are afloat around the net that the next M5, and probably the M6, will not feature a manual transmission, maybe not even as a paid option.
BMW M-brand Engineering chief Albert Biermann reports that manual-equipped M5 models are topping out at 15 percent of total sales, making it a money-loser and makes nearly impossible to make another three-pedal M5.
This is a sad piece of news for traditional stick shift-loving enthusiasts. Yes they do have a point as it makes little sense in offering a manual option when there is no demand. Weirdly the young sibling to the M5, the M3 does not suffer from the same problem, for now at least.
However with changing times, BMW has found out that most of their M5 customer base prefers driving an automated dual-clutch transmission than the good old traditional stick. Rumours are afloat around the net that the next M5, and probably the M6, will not feature a manual transmission, maybe not even as a paid option. BMW M-brand Engineering chief Albert Biermann reports that manual-equipped M5 models are topping out at 15 percent of total sales, making it a money-loser and makes nearly impossible to make another three-pedal M5.
This is a sad piece of news for traditional stick shift-loving enthusiasts. Yes they do have a point as it makes little sense in offering a manual option when there is no demand. Weirdly the young sibling to the M5, the M3 does not suffer from the same problem, for now at least.
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