subaru, king of manuals?

sickmint79

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U.S. Buyers Still Overwhelmingly Choose a Manual for the Subaru BRZ and WRX

Autoblog wrote about one of those bright spots Tuesday—Subaru buyers. Subaru sent Autoblog its 2018 take rates, which were impressive: The company sold 78 percent of BRZs with a manual, and an incredible 90 percent of WRXs sold with a clutch pedal instead of the car’s optional continuously variable transmission.

The BRZ’s manual take rate even puts its 86 twin to shame. While their overall sales numbers are as identical as they are—Subaru reported selling 3,834 BRZs last year and Toyota reported selling 4,146 86s, including the adopted Scion FR-S—CarBuzz reported recently that only 33 percent of Toyota 86 buyers go for the stick compared to the BRZ’s nearly 80 percent.

The BRZ and WRX rates even beat those of the Miata, which few can fathom in an automatic—over the past year or so, Mazda reported that three out of four soft-top buyers went for a stick, while RF models were split at about halfway.
 

Chet Donnelly

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How much of this is because its basically a $4k option to get an automatic on these cars? These cars both have to predominantly driven by younger boys on a budget...and they aren't willing to spend $4k to get an auto. BRZ for example goes from $25,xxx to get into....and $30,000 to get an auto.
 

sickmint79

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How much of this is because its basically a $4k option to get an automatic on these cars? These cars both have to predominantly driven by younger boys on a budget...and they aren't willing to spend $4k to get an auto. BRZ for example goes from $25,xxx to get into....and $30,000 to get an auto.

i took a look at the GODDAMN LEGEND ecoboost mustang and it was 26,5 with a 1600 auto trans.

the brz was 25,8 for the premium with no auto option
the brz was 29,5 for the limited with +1100 for auto

wrx was 27,2 with no auto option
wrx premium was 29,5 and +1900 for cvt

it appears the mustang is driven by younger boys, and the subarus driven by younger men
 

Chet Donnelly

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i took a look at the GODDAMN LEGEND ecoboost mustang and it was 26,5 with a 1600 auto trans.

the brz was 25,8 for the premium with no auto option
the brz was 29,5 for the limited with +1100 for auto

wrx was 27,2 with no auto option
wrx premium was 29,5 and +1900 for cvt

it appears the mustang is driven by younger boys, and the subarus driven by younger men

So aren't those the numbers I just said? Automatic is basically a $4k option on BRZ's and WRX. Could the reason so many boys choose manual is because its such a crazy price difference to go auto?

You're talking a ~25% price difference on the BRZ to get an auto!
 

sickmint79

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So aren't those the numbers I just said? Automatic is basically a $4k option on BRZ's and WRX. Could the reason so many boys choose manual is because its such a crazy price difference to go auto?

You're talking a ~25% price difference on the BRZ to get an auto!

if you are asking me to believe that new car buyers, young men in particular, make considerable buying decisions off financing an extra 2 or 4 grand across 5+ years... consider me rather skeptical
 

sickmint79

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looking more at the other offerings, ryan's assessment does seem a fair partial explanation. wrx includes the (higher price, but manual only) sti. toyota's auto is attainable more cheaply, where 33% are manuals.

it would be neat to compare this at the trim level, and compare it to other cars, although it doesn't seem like any of that is readily available data.

poking around i found this, il lowest % by state (per carmax records) - interesting!

carmax-popularity-of-manual-tranmission-by-state.png


around here almost the lowest by city

carmax-popularity-of-manual-tranmission-by-city-new.png
 

The Beast

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How much of this is because its basically a $4k option to get an automatic on these cars? These cars both have to predominantly driven by younger boys on a budget...and they aren't willing to spend $4k to get an auto. BRZ for example goes from $25,xxx to get into....and $30,000 to get an auto.



You would look good in a brz
 

DanJ

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There are many times where I wish I would have gone with a manual Subaru for my DD. I feel like I enjoy manual driving enough to have one for my DD.

But is your wife proficient in manual? I tried to teach mine once and she lost interest. It is an issue if ever want to take her car to wash it or something because she can’t drive mine.
 

zenriddles

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I consider ability to drive a manual mandatory. Everyone in my household can drive stick proficiently. I greatly prefer stick to auto and the increased gas mileage doesn't hurt when my drive to the office is 60 miles each way.

When I buy a car, the transmission is definitely high on the list of sought after features. If I was buying a new car, a stick would be greatly preferred regardless of cost.

Engine braking and handbrakes - so much fun in traffic with asshole tailgaters.
 

Rent Free

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https://www.autoblog.com/2019/05/24...issions/?ncid=edlinkusauto00000021&yptr=yahoo

We're continuing to get manual transmission take-rate numbers from manufacturers, and one of the latest sets of information comes from Volkswagen. And we should get the obvious out of the way, the take rate for the enthusiast-oriented Golf R and GTI is the highest. In 2018, 44% of those hot hatchbacks left dealer lots with a manual transmission. Some enthusiasts might be sad to see that more are sold with an automatic, but this seems like a strong rate when you consider that the R and GTI are available with such an excellent dual-clutch transmission. Also, when only about a third of Toyota 86s are sold with a manual, this looks better and better.
 
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