[JohnEnglish]

2018 was the last year for a manual transmission in the A4 in North America. Audi corporate agreed to build a manual A4 for North America on the condition that the manual accounted for at least 10% of A4 sales. However, it ended up accounting for less than 2% of sales so it was cancelled.

[6MTFTMFW]

Originally Posted by JohnEnglish

2018 was the last year for a manual transmission in the A4 in North America. Audi corporate agreed to build a manual A4 for North America on the condition that the manual accounted for at least 10% of A4 sales. However, it ended up accounting for less than 2% of sales so it was cancelled.

Yes, and it felt like it was built as a favor, and 4 cylinder only to boot. 2018 A4 MT drove like sh*t. GolfR MT was more fun to drive with a stick than that excuse for a manual transmission sports sedan.
It's a well-known self fulfilled prophecy. Make MT version horrible to drive, never send one to the dealers to test drive and then claim low sales numbers. Magic.

[upsidedownfunnel]

Originally Posted by 6MTFTMFW

Yes, and it felt like it was built as a favor, and 4 cylinder only to boot. 2018 A4 MT drove like sh*t. GolfR MT was more fun to drive with a stick than that excuse for a manual transmission sports sedan.
It's a well-known self fulfilled prophecy. Make MT version horrible to drive, never send one to the dealers to test drive and then claim low sales numbers. Magic.

Let's be fair though. If they know sales will be low, they can't justify spending a ton of money fine tuning the transmission. It kinda goes both ways and the real reason is that people just aren't buying them anymore. Even when they were properly tuned. Sure Audi could have spent some time to make it good, but would sales have really been impacted that much? Probably not. Maybe they would have gotten an extra year out of it, but even that's unlikely.

[JohnEnglish]

Originally Posted by 6MTFTMFW

Yes, and it felt like it was built as a favor, and 4 cylinder only to boot. 2018 A4 MT drove like sh*t. GolfR MT was more fun to drive with a stick than that excuse for a manual transmission sports sedan.
It's a well-known self fulfilled prophecy. Make MT version horrible to drive, never send one to the dealers to test drive and then claim low sales numbers. Magic.

True, but the A4 only comes as a 4 cylinder. The S4 (the M340i competitor) is he only one with a V6 and it's only sold as an automatic; even in Europe. People just aren't buying manuals like they used to.

[upsidedownfunnel]

Originally Posted by JohnEnglish

True, but the A4 only comes as a 4 cylinder. The S4 (the M340i competitor) is he only one with a V6 and it's only sold as an automatic; even in Europe. People just aren't buying manuals like they used to.

That's being pedantic. The S4 is just an A4 with a bigger engine and sport package. We all know what 6MTFTMFW is talking about.

Carmakers like Audi, Lexus, and Genesis all seemed to think the American market would rather have the base engine with a manual in the A4 2.0T, IS250, and G70 2.0T. Those failures led to the demise of the manual in all those cars. I wonder if they had instead made the manual available in the 6 cylinder cars if that would have made a difference in adoption rate. Maybe more enthusiasts would have purchased those cars. Nah, that's probably just a pipe dream.

It's interesting to think about though. In Europe, people who get the cheaper cars generally get the manual for lower cost. But in America, people in the past couple decades really only got the manual for performance, not so much cost. So maybe the American market would have reacted differently.

[JohnEnglish]

Originally Posted by upsidedownfunnel

That's being pedantic. The S4 is just an A4 with a bigger engine and sport package. We all know what 6MTFTMFW is talking about.

Carmakers like Audi, Lexus, and Genesis all seemed to think the American market would rather have the base engine with a manual in the A4 2.0T, IS250, and G70 2.0T. Those failures led to the demise of the manual in all those cars. I wonder if they had instead made the manual available in the 6 cylinder cars if that would have made a difference in adoption rate. Maybe more enthusiasts would have purchased those cars. Nah, that's probably just a pipe dream.

It's interesting to think about though. In Europe, people who get the cheaper cars generally get the manual for lower cost. But in America, people in the past couple decades really only got the manual for performance, not so much cost. So maybe the American market would have reacted differently.

I doubt you'd see any significant purchases even if they put the manual into the V6 model. Less than 2% of the previous gen S4 sales were manual.

[M3 Adjuster]

Originally Posted by JohnEnglish

2018 was the last year for a manual transmission in the A4 in North America. Audi corporate agreed to build a manual A4 for North America on the condition that the manual accounted for at least 10% of A4 sales. However, it ended up accounting for less than 2% of sales so it was cancelled.

10% of sales as ordered by dealers , or 10% of sales as ordered by BUYERS ?

It's all in how you measure...

[JohnEnglish]

Originally Posted by M3 Adjuster

10% of sales as ordered by dealers , or 10% of sales as ordered by BUYERS ?

It's all in how you measure...

10% as sold to buyers. It was only available as a sold order option. Dealers couldn't order it as inventory.

[Run Silent]

Originally Posted by JohnEnglish

10% as sold to buyers. It was only available as a sold order option. Dealers couldn't order it as inventory.

None to sell from stock at the dealerships, none that a potential buyer could test drive, and none to physically touch, feel, and test out?

Shocking - I can't possibly see why they only sold 2%. Baffles the mind.

[JohnEnglish]

Originally Posted by Run Silent

None to sell from stock at the dealerships, none that a potential buyer could test drive, and none to physically touch, feel, and test out?

Shocking - I can't possibly see why they only sold 2%. Baffles the mind.

I don't know, maybe some dealers ordered them in but otherwise you couldn't find them. The previous generation S4 was a similar story. However, dealers could order them for inventory but good luck finding one. Dealers also lowballed manual trade ins because "they're so hard to sell".

[6MTFTMFW]

Originally Posted by Run Silent

None to sell from stock at the dealerships, none that a potential buyer could test drive, and none to physically touch, feel, and test out?

Shocking - I can't possibly see why they only sold 2%. Baffles the mind.

Exactly.
And just in case someone gets their hands on one, let's make it drive like a POS and steer them to Automatic. Although I hear even 8ZF automatic is tuned horribly in A4/S4

[Red Bread]

I think many of us that buy manuals don't want a car as large as the B9 A4, G20 3er or, well any taxi, er, MB. I wouldn't buy a G20 even if it came with a stick, big fat thing. Same goes for the A4.

I loved my two B5's and would buy a manual RS3 tomorrow. But I don't even see the current A4 sized class as appealing, regardless of transmission.

[Obioban]

Originally Posted by Red Bread

I think many of us that buy manuals don't want a car as large as the B9 A4, G20 3er or, well any taxi, er, MB. I wouldn't buy a G20 even if it came with a stick, big fat thing. Same goes for the A4.

I loved my two B5's and would buy a manual RS3 tomorrow. But I don't even see the current A4 sized class as appealing, regardless of transmission.

Meanwhile I think my next car project will likely be a V12 e38 that I convert to manual

[Red Bread]

Originally Posted by Obioban

Meanwhile I think my next car project will likely be a V12 e38 that I convert to manual

My parents had one of the last Isuzu Troopers with a manual. Weird driving something that large, heavy and ponderous with a manual. Not that I didn't enjoy it.

Weren't there US E38's with a manual from the factory?

[Savageenterprise]

I looked at one in the showroom. A4 s line with a manual and just because of its limited production I thought it would be a cool car. The virtual cockpit and interior was beautiful too.

But the car sticker was like over 60k!!! I was like 60K for an A4, you've got to be kidding me. And that was the end of that

[Obioban]

Originally Posted by Red Bread

My parents had one of the last Isuzu Troopers with a manual. Weird driving something that large, heavy and ponderous with a manual. Not that I didn't enjoy it.

Weren't there US E38's with a manual from the factory?

There were no manual e38s in the USA, and no manual V12 e38s anywhere. But, the 850csi used the same engine, and had a manual trans you can still buy new

[M3 Adjuster]

Originally Posted by JohnEnglish

10% as sold to buyers. It was only available as a sold order option. Dealers couldn't order it as inventory.

None can be ordered by dealers ? Wow that's interesting.

BMW has their own way of setting the table for things like this , as the majority of vehicles on the lot including (or most importantly!) limited edition models are often ordered by the dealer as inventory and then sold as opposed to the customer ordering the vehicle they want it.

[Red Bread]

Originally Posted by Obioban

There were no manual e38s in the USA, and no manual V12 e38s anywhere. But, the 850csi used the same engine, and had a manual trans you can still buy new

Maybe it's time to resurrect the Goldfisch? (Shouldn't it be Geldfisch?!)

[IMG]https://motor-car.net/pics/97/n/BMW-...V16-engine.jpg[/IMG]

[JohnEnglish]

Originally Posted by M3 Adjuster

None can be ordered by dealers ? Wow that's interesting.

BMW has their own way of setting the table for things like this , as the majority of vehicles on the lot including (or most importantly!) limited edition models are often ordered by the dealer as inventory and then sold as opposed to the customer ordering the vehicle they want it.

I'm sure Audi does the same thing. The manual A4 wasn't a limited edition model, it's just that the manual option was for sold orders only. Options that are low volume are often only allowed to be ordered if the car is allocated to a customer.

[Red Bread]

Originally Posted by M3 Adjuster

None can be ordered by dealers ? Wow that's interesting.

BMW has their own way of setting the table for things like this , as the majority of vehicles on the lot including (or most importantly!) limited edition models are often ordered by the dealer as inventory and then sold as opposed to the customer ordering the vehicle they want it.

Our BMW sales guy told us that they were requested by BMW USA to not inventory any manual F30's. Only sold orders. Many customers just assumed the F30 wasn't offered with a manual since no dealers had inventory.

[JohnEnglish]

Originally Posted by Savageenterprise

I looked at one in the showroom. A4 s line with a manual and just because of its limited production I thought it would be a cool car. The virtual cockpit and interior was beautiful too.

But the car sticker was like over 60k!!! I was like 60K for an A4, you've got to be kidding me. And that was the end of that

I'm assuming there was some ridiculous dealer markup on that. The A4 Ultra Sport (the limited production final run of the manual A4) was only $43K. Only 40 of those were produced.

[M3 Adjuster]

Originally Posted by JohnEnglish

I'm assuming there was some ridiculous dealer markup on that. The A4 Ultra Sport (the limited production final run of the manual A4) was only $43K. Only 40 of those were produced.

That's how BMW dealers have killed the 1er and 2er. Hamstrung from the beginning from BMW AG/ BMW NA with a lack of a sedan, wagon or GT lift-back model and then what models are in stock are Optioned up to where they are right near the higher line 3er models. Then for dealer reps sell the benefits of the 3er. This Combined that with oodles of inventory of 3er and 4er models vs having to special order a 2er optioned the way you want it and the customer will most often take what's available.

Here in my area, most 2 series models were fully optioned out to just below M2 pricing, such that if you came in looking for an M240 and it was priced at 51-53k you were like wait what ?!

Savageenterprise it looks like the same happened to you.

BMW dealers sell M4 all day long to buyers that don't want to wait for an M2. Especially if all the M2 on the lot are optioned up vs an M4 which has more standard features and far more attractive lease rates ...