Jay Leno drives new Vette

carl

carl

True Classic
I watched a youtube video from Lenos garage series where he discusses the new mid engine Corvette with the GM Corvette project manager. It was a nice talk about the design aspects of the car and then they went on a drive. I don't own a Corvette and have never even ridden in one but like all American males I am a "fan". Anyway, it was a nice, interesting show and even touched on some advantages of a mid engine car in general. And yes, I wouldn't mind having this iteration of the Vette.

Not being 'puter tech savvy I did not save and attach the link.
 
Since I am a sucker for mid engine cars. I have been following the C8 for over a year. Anxiously waiting for 07/18/2019. I was all set to sell everything and save for a used c8, then the announcement came that the C8 is auto only. I know I'm in the minority but no manual? Who cares how fast the new autos shift. What's the point? My truck is an Automatic. I want to be engaged while driving a sports car. Oh good it's got a million buttons....

There is a reason why used Ferraris with Manuals sell more. At least you can still but a Porsche with a manual. Barf.

Thanks for letting me ramble.

Thanks Carl for re-opening that wound. On a positive note I did get my motor cycle license this weekend. Ducati Monster here I come.
 
lanciahf said:
Since I am a sucker for mid engine cars. I have been following the C8 for over a year. Anxiously waiting for 07/18/2019. I was all set to sell everything and save for a used c8, then the announcement came that the C8 is auto only. I know I'm in the minority but no manual? Who cares how fast the new autos shift. What's the point? My truck is an Automatic. I want to be engaged while driving a sports car. Oh good it's got a million buttons....

There is a reason why used Ferraris with Manuals sell more. At least you can still but a Porsche with a manual. Barf.

Thanks for letting me ramble.

Thanks Carl for re-opening that wound. On a positive note I did get my motor cycle license this weekend. Ducati Monster here I come.
Click to expand...

As big as the aftermarket appearance and performance market is for Corvettes, someone somewhere is already working on a way to manual-ize the C8 automatic. But, it won't be cheap.
 
lanciahf said:
Since I am a sucker for mid engine cars. I have been following the C8 for over a year. Anxiously waiting for 07/18/2019. I was all set to sell everything and save for a used c8, then the announcement came that the C8 is auto only. I know I'm in the minority but no manual? Who cares how fast the new autos shift. What's the point? My truck is an Automatic. I want to be engaged while driving a sports car. Oh good it's got a million buttons....

There is a reason why used Ferraris with Manuals sell more. At least you can still but a Porsche with a manual. Barf.

Thanks for letting me ramble.

Thanks Carl for re-opening that wound. On a positive note I did get my motor cycle license this weekend. Ducati Monster here I come.
Click to expand...

Not to get all nit-picky, but there's an important distinction (to me at least) with the transmission. When most people refer to an automatic transmission, they are talking about something with a torque converter and planetary gears. The end result is a inefficient marshmallow of a driving experience (even if you are given the option of "manually" selecting your gear.)

The transmission in the C8 is essentially a manual transmission with it's shift forks and throw-out bearing controlled by actuators linked back to the flappy paddles on the steering wheel. No torque converter, it has a clutch (dual clutch system), no planetary gears - it has an input and output shaft with banks of gears.

The result is your have all of the benefits of a traditional manual transmission (no torque converter, no planetary gears), while also not needing to use a clutch pedal (some may see that as a pro or a con). Once you adjust to not having to use the clutch, using flappy paddles instead of a shift lever, and the sequential nature of the shifting, the car will feel and respond like a traditionally manual car albeit with MUCH faster shifts.

EDIT: A common misconception seems to be that because some sequential manuals with automatic clutches have the option to be shifted automatically by the car's computer, the driver never has the opportunity to shift gears manually, and if they did, it would be akin to those cars with traditional automatics that let you select the gear you want. This is not the case. Put the car in manual mode, and shift the gears with the paddles - there'll be no sloppy lag like you've experienced in an automatic with that option. END EDIT

I still vastly prefer the experience of using a clutch and a shift lever versus flappy paddles and if the C8 came with a traditional manual option, I would buy that if I was in the market. However I don't write off cars like the C8 and Alfa Romeo 4C that are advertised as "automatic only" because that's simply not the case and once you adjust to the new shifting style/layout, the car feels like a manual car (because it is - it's actually far more similar to the shifting experience you have in a sport bike or quad.) My opinion is the minor detraction of not having a clutch pedal doesn't overshadow the rest of the car, how it performs, and the experience you have driving it.

If its transmission had a torque converter and planetary gears on the other hand . . . I wouldn't touch it.
 
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I got a chance to drive an Audi R8 at Summit Point raceway. Dual clutch/paddle shifters. Fastest most precise shifts of my life. These paddles are not fake shifting like my son's Mitsubishi Lancer Paddles on a CVT. I would get a real dual clutch system on any car.
 
I get real tired of folks saying a dual clutch trans is an automatic, as noted above, these are real manual gearboxes but the computer works the clutch for you. My GTI has this and not so surprisingly, my paddle shifting was not as good as the computer shifting. All the important inputs are taken care of as I can hear the rev matching with the throttle and blipping as needed. I would think if Porsche, Audi, Ferrari and Alfa are going this way that you would expect it to be the wave of the future....till electric cars take over and all this will be lost.

The thing that amazed Jay Leno the most was the price of the car, he just couldn't get his head around the $64K for a base model.
 
carl said:
The thing that amazed Jay Leno the most was the price of the car, he just couldn't get his head around the $64K for a base model.
Click to expand...

Since the C8 production run for 2020 was almost sold out back at the end of July, I think it'll take close to a year after they actually hit the showrooms for someone to be able to buy one for the sticker prices, which are below:
1LT (base model): $59,995
2LT: $67,295
3LT: $71,495​

Not to mention the must-have options:
Z51 option: $5,000
MagnaRide Shocks option: $1,895
Front axle lift system option: $1,495​
 
I own an Alfa 4C. Yes it has paddle shifters and I love using them in the manual mode. Even in my prime I could not shift as fluidly as they do. Does it detract from the driving experience? No if smooth down shifting and late turn-in braking are part of your driving technique. However, I will say I enjoy my manual tranny autos.
 
Dan, do you use a hand crank to start your motor...
I'm with Dino, Don't miss the clutch pedal on my GTI at all but have the X and M car when I want to shift gears...and do a terrible job of it.
 
Ahh no clutch pedal, that explains it. My wife drives a Fiat 500 pop daily with a clutch pedal. Just saying.

I'll stop now
 
Trying to drag things back on topic, like herding cats around here, it is an amazing car for the price. And the program was very down to earth with Leno giving a real world analysis, not race track analysis. As someone who has never had a powerful car, I'm not sure how you enjoy them without putting your license at risk...pushing a relatively slow car, any old Fiat, hard keeps you will within the skills of most of us. I'm sure if I had a Mustang GT or similarly powerful car I'd get bored with it as I could never push the envelope on the street. On an X1/9 you can always have your foot to the floor.
 
carl said:
Dan, do you use a hand crank to start your motor...
I'm with Dino, Don't miss the clutch pedal on my GTI at all but have the X and M car when I want to shift gears...and do a terrible job of it.
Click to expand...

Just to get this post back off topic, Lada used engines similar to Fiat once upon a time, and Lada also made a model called the "Niva", and interestingly the Niva had a hand crank.

maxresdefault.jpg
 
Up until 2 years ago, i had only manual gear box cars. Includes a few hard to get like Alfa 147 2L, Alfa 159 TBI and more.
I really thought that's the way to go in a sportive car.
But then i had a test drive in a BMW M240i with the superb ZF8 sport and immediately thought that when reaching a level
of that performance, auto/dual clutch is much suitable.
Fast driving is much fluent, your mind is only on the next turn and as Dino55 mentioned, you can brake late and those boxes will forever
be faster than us.
Other drivers don't look for this extreme driving and it's understandable, and i'm not sure i'm all in the auto myself, but we sure a minority.
Although the decision was hard, i ended up buying that bimmer with that ZF8 and i'm super happy and still respect the way it works,
but to be honest, it's quite sad to see that gear lever and pedal vanish away.

And for the Corvette, what they did there is amazing. This layout and performance for very small money... up in my list for sure.
 
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