Volkswagen to Sticks: Never Gonna Give U Up

Steph Willems
by Steph Willems

As dry cleaning tycoon George Jefferson once said, “In politics, lies are called promises.” Automotive purists surely hope that lesson doesn’t apply to Volkswagen’s pledge to hang on to manual transmissions for dear life.

While the automaker says it has no inherent desire to go the two-pedal-only route, it makes clear that the ball is entirely in the customer’s court.

Speaking to Autocar, Volkswagen tech boss Matthias Rabe said, “Some people enjoy going back to their roots and changing gear manually, and so long as there is a demand, we will continue to offer them.”

What a nice thing to say. Rabe’s comments came in the wake of the European debut of the next-generation Golf GTI, which carries a standard sic-speed manual and turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder. A seven-speed dual-clutch automatic is optional, though VW’s recipe for America remains to be seen.

It’s expected that the still-popular GTI and Golf R will arrive here, minus the base hatch that, while well put together, has fallen out of favor with the U.S. new car buyer. Buyers of lesser means can still get a six-speed stick in the base Jetta, which happens to be an increasing rarity in the low-end car market.

Whereas once a buyer could get into any number of row-your-own compacts and subcompacts, the pairing is increasingly falling out of favor. Blame a rock-bottom take rates on this side of the pond and an industry-wide trend of offering fewer build configurations. Look to the 2020 Nissan Sentra for evidence of this.

How long will VW’s pledge hold up? It’s up to you… and perhaps to VW, too, as the German giant sure likes electric powertrains. One thing you don’t see in an EV is a clutch pedal.

[Image: Murilee Martin/TTAC]

Steph Willems
Steph Willems

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  • Gtem Gtem on Mar 25, 2020

    I was able to test drive a new manual Golf Alltrack at the local VW place, jumped at the opportunity actually. But between that and trying out a manual '18 Mazda3 hatch with the 2.5, I've come to the realization that a manual is not a magic pill that makes new cars truly fun and engaging to drive. Everything has dead steering, super-isolated everything. Bleh.

  • Piratethecat Piratethecat on Mar 26, 2020

    Does the GTI still have the issue where it stalls randomly? I was looking at those last year but it was enough to dissuade me from VW when I was already leery of their "issues" to start with. Love the idea of a GTI as a daily but don't love the idea of a VW long-term.

    • -Nate -Nate on Mar 27, 2020

      As a VW / Porsche / Mercedes Mechanic of 50 years I highly suggest you DO NOT buy any German cars unless you're an enthusiast who likes doing your own repairs . It pains me to say this but facts are facts . -Nate

  • Alan Years ago Jack Baruth held a "competition" for a piece from the B&B on the oddest pickup story (or something like that). I think 5 people were awarded the prizes.I never received mine, something about being in Australia. If TTAC is global how do you offer prizes to those overseas or are we omitted on the sly from competing?In the end I lost significant respect for Baruth.
  • Alan My view is there are good vehicles from most manufacturers that are worth looking at second hand.I can tell you I don't recommend anything from the Chrysler/Jeep/Fiat/etc gene pool. Toyotas are overly expensive second hand for what they offer, but they seem to be reliable enough.I have a friend who swears by secondhand Subarus and so far he seems to not have had too many issue.As Lou stated many utes, pickups and real SUVs (4x4) seem quite good.
  • 28-Cars-Later So is there some kind of undiagnosed disease where every rando thinks their POS is actually valuable?83K miles Ok.new valve cover gasket.Eh, it happens with age. spark plugsOkay, we probably had to be kewl and put in aftermarket iridium plugs, because EVO.new catalytic converterUh, yeah that's bad at 80Kish. Auto tranny failing. From the ad: the SST fails in one of the following ways:Clutch slip has turned into; multiple codes being thrown, shifting a gear or 2 in manual mode (2-3 or 2-4), and limp mode.Codes include: P2733 P2809 P183D P1871Ok that's really bad. So between this and the cat it suggests to me someone jacked up the car real good hooning it, because EVO, and since its not a Toyota it doesn't respond well to hard abuse over time.$20,000, what? Pesos? Zimbabwe Dollars?Try $2,000 USD pal. You're fracked dude, park it in da hood and leave the keys in it.BONUS: Comment in the ad: GLWS but I highly doubt you get any action on this car what so ever at that price with the SST on its way out. That trans can be $10k + to repair.
  • 28-Cars-Later Actually Honda seems to have a brilliant mid to long term strategy which I can sum up in one word: tariffs.-BEV sales wane in the US, however they will sell in Europe (and sales will probably increase in Canada depending on how their government proceeds). -The EU Politburo and Canada concluded a trade treaty in 2017, and as of 2024 99% of all tariffs have been eliminated.-Trump in 2018 threatened a 25% tariff on European imported cars in the US and such rhetoric would likely come again should there be an actual election. -By building in Canada, product can still be sold in the US tariff free though USMCA/NAFTA II but it should allow Honda tariff free access to European markets.-However if the product were built in Marysville it could end up subject to tit-for-tat tariff depending on which junta is running the US in 2025. -Profitability on BEV has already been a variable to put it mildly, but to take on a 25% tariff to all of your product effectively shuts you out of that market.
  • Lou_BC Actuality a very reasonable question.
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