https://driving.ca/jaguar/auto-news/...its-your-fault




Due to a drop-off in sales, Jaguar has decided to kill the manual transmission option in its F-Type for the 2020 model year. Boo.

Enthusiasts begged Jaguar to offer a manual transmission in the F-Type when it came out in 2012, so much so the British brand actually listened and gave the people what they wanted, in the form of a 340- to 380-horsepower V6, with three pedals and six speeds.

However, for 2020, the third pedal will be left in the parts bin.

According to Car and Driver, the take rate for the V6 F-Type spec’ed with the manual transmission was so low – just four percent – that Jaguar has decided to pack it up completely, leaving only the paddle-shifted automatic option.While the manual option will be killed in the U.S. and in Canada, it will live on in its home in the U.K. The base price of the sports car will also be going up by US$880, while the more powerful variants like the F-Type R and the SVR will see an increase of US$980.

Perhaps if everybody that said “save the manuals” bought one instead of a front-wheel-drive hatchback from 2003, this wouldn’t have happened.

Next time you say “I’ll wait until these to depreciate to under $20,000 and then I’ll buy one!”—don’t. Go and buy it now.

 

 

Hmmm, "will live on in the UK".
I wonder if that means it will also live on in Oz, I can but hope.
Coz my next car will either be an F-Type R or an F-Type MT.
Just have to wait and see what shows up on the MY2020 Oz spec list!

 

Let's keep things in perspective. 4% equals 90 cars. And its not as if the automatic is a Powerglide.

 

 

I would have bought a Manual if it was available with a V8 engine.

 

Same. As much as that sounds like an excuse, its the truth.

 

Un, you think I said that without checking first. US 2018 sales were less than 2300. Next I am going to go back and check the Sportbrake sales. I would like a SB if I was in any way confident it would be well equipped and had even close to state of the art tech. That is going to be a true collectible.

As to the 8s. Clearly the manual can't handle the power safely. Like the XK8s, where they had a ZF trans, but the XKRs had a MB trans.

 

yep but we all knew manuals are on borrowed time, both in demand and not being able to game the ever increasing emission tests

i have quite a few of the last analogue sports/supercars with manual boxes, and they are great for the nostalgia and involvement, but i don't see the fun in driving a high powered manual car in these days of increased traffic congestion and (at least in our country) draconian speed limit enforcement

my partner has an abarth 124, and for me that is where i think modern manuals should exist, the low powered light sports car where you can go through a few gears with a bit of throttle and not being at risk of losing your license and looking like a socially unacceptable motorist

 

That may be for the ZF trans; but we put a manual in the hellcat, so that's not a very good excuse.

 

The ZF 8-speed is a great trans, but I would have bought the manual if it were available in the R. This is one reason I was leaning towards the Z06, but in the end the Jag won out.
Part of that is because I wanted my wife to enjoy it as well, and although she can drive a stick, I know she would be more comfortable with an automatic. The auto in the Vette is not the best, and the Jag is AWD, and has so much more class than the Vette (IMHO).
Now, after living with the auto for a year+, I am very pleased I got the automatic. The traffic in Seattle is nasty, and stop-and-go in a manual can be tiring. And the paddle shifters on the ZF are excellent...

...still...

I would say that this purchase was the last time I would ever be able to buy a manual. Here forward is going to be electric, AWD, and possibly autonomous.

 

 

Same situation here, although my decision was between the Jag and the Porsche. The Transformer Vette just does not do it for me......

 

Manuals were actually killed a bit earlier, they stopped making them in second half of 2019. I know, I tried to order one.

Roll-out of MT was mishandled. First, they released it with slipping clutch and that was so obvious that even journos commented on it. Second, they only offered it on V6 cars. Third, they didn't modify the rest of the drive train to handle MT shocks (extra damping or stronger differential and driveshaft).

I know my next hobby car will not be a new F-type, instead I kept my MT F-type. My next new car will likely be Lotus Evora or Corvette ZR1. However, I have a long list of used cars with MT that I want to add to my collection - late Viper, MT Ferrari, 80s era M6.

 

Agreed, this is a sad situation. I'm probably a good example of all the above. Loved the F type from the time I saw it in 2014 but was going to wait until the depreciation made buying it more affordable and wanted to get the best manual that would be available. That resulted in my purchasing the 2016 F Type S in July of last year, but it took me 7 months to find an S. My experience during that search indicates there are more MT base models out there than the S models and here in the U.S. they appear to be more prevalent in California and Arizona (in fact, mine was returned under the lemon law in southern California and was purchased by a dealership in West Palm Beach, FL where I purchased it before its drive to Chicago). I'm old school, so it's not a proper British sportscar without a MT (IMHO).

 

Me too.

But I understand that few people even know what to do with it today.

 

I agree it's too bad though I wouldn't have been a buyer even IF they offered it with the V8. I love the versatility of the ZF8; it can be a relatively sedate car my wife can drive but then flick a few buttons and it's a rip-roaring, paddle shifted beast. ?For the most part, the younger demographic just doesn't have the desire for a manual like some of us older guys do and the fact that the autos, PDK's and the like are so good now has largely sealed the fate of the manual tranny IMO. ...probably Detroit nostalgic musclecar styled cars will be the last to have them.


Dave

 

I might have bought a manual if it weren't so hard to find one on a dealer lot equipped with desirable options. Most of them were on the base model with no performance seats and often missing things like vision pack and climate pack.
My GTI is manual because the transmission was a standalone selection that had no bearing on what options would be fitted, so I was able to find exactly what I wanted.

 

I don't understand the F-Type MT strategy. I've been looking at the Corvette firesale for a while, and the majority of Z06s in inventory are 7 speed manuals. LT3s are about 75% manuals, and still command 6 figures. And they are RWD.

​​​​​​I wouldn't have guessed the buying demographic is so different from the F-Type R as they are probably the most direct competitor.

I think it was more likely misdirected Jag marketing strategy. Advertising in general is non-existent. People ask me almost everyday, what kind of car is it?

 

It is a self fulfilling prophecy: The manufacturers don't make many manuals...the dealers then don't sell many...after a while the manufacturers' certification costs are no longer worth it...and the availability becomes non existent.

I ran into that when I bought my small SUV. I was looking at two brands...one had stopped sales of MTs the previous year so the dealers were trying to get me to buy used...with the other brand, 2 of the 5 close dealers didn't have any in stock.

PS: The salesman I bought from (who was a nice guy, BTW!) called me two years in, and asked "Are you ready to trade up?" and I said "Only if you can find me a new MT". He never called back.