I feel connected to the car when it is a manual trans, I exploit every bit of the car's performance this way. That is my story and I'm sticking with it . I'm not asking Mercedes to stop making automatic, I'm asking them to leave the manual option open. And as far as marketing is concerned, if a company can provides both manual and automatic then that company will more likely success, because now not only they make those automatic lovers happy but the anti-auto also, so have you got what I mean? How is that for a crash course of marketing 101 for you? .

Cost comes into it. Since only a very small percentage of the buyer pool wants a manual is it worth spending a $20M to R&D one? I'm making up numbers but say MB sells 20k E350's this year. And out of those 20k cars 2k people want a 6spd. If MB makes what maybe $500 per manual do the math on how fast say a $20m investment will return.

Its all return on investment, you marketing guys don't see that part!

Also the percentage of people wanting sticks is shrinking. Last time MB offered a 5spd stick in a 300E they sold about 700 of them.

I agree though rowing the gears is a lot of fun.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

Hey Hatterasguy
Nice try but your theory of cost over profit in developing of a manual trans is a losing proposition then why in the world BMW, and Audi just to name a few continue to offer 6-speed manual in various lines of their cars like the allroad, S4, 540I, M5 and etc... . Do you think they are that stupid???

No.
They just need a marketing genius like you.
If you like the work-out of stabbing a clutchpedal in & out in stop & go traffic, that's fine.
Maybe in 20 years you'll have the legstrength of Arnold Schwarzenegger.
My crystall ball says it is only a matter of time, before all standard transmissions in cars will only be a memory.
Believe me, after 30 years of pedal-stabbing, I've really enjoyed the last 10 years of automatics, especially my current 5 speed with tiptronic function ( so I can be a pretend "macho-racer" ).
Look at Audi, VW, BMW & many others.
Where are they headed ? SMG, DSG, etc. " Clutchless " standard transmissions, i.e. semi-automatic.

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2007 C 230 Sport.

Alex V. said: why in the world BMW, and Audi just to name a few continue to offer 6-speed manual in various lines of their cars like the allroad, S4, 540I, M5 and etc.
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The people who buy BMW and Audi are entirely different than the people who buy MBs. MB has a much older, more affluent buyer and they don't want to shift gears themselves.

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1986 560 SEL (159K miles)

being a seasoned driver and shadetree mechanic, i've owned a lot of different cars: audi's, bmw's, volvo's, vw's and mercedes'. i now own two w123's, and think they are great. i have $2625 in two cars. a lot of people where i live are scared of "foreign" cars, so they buy crap box american cars that are good for at most 150,000 miles. my 85 300td has 307000 miles on it. it smoked bad when i bought it, like on fire. i got on this website and found diesel giants site and got LOTS of good advice. these cars are in a class of their own. they are fairly easy to work on, except for the electrical system. i had an 82 jaguar xj6, a lawyer gave it to me! he hated that car. i kept it a while, and gave it back. but even if all the electric components of my two benz's go out, they still run like tanks. i'm glad someone likes bmw's, i had one and it was a huge money pit. i'll never buy another one. so if you dont like mercedes, sell and get out. but for me, i feel like i'm part of a silent army of benz owners, and we assemble here and learn from each other. take care and God bless, jim

I hope auto transmissions do not eventually replace traditional manual transmissions. My last car was a manual, and my current car is an auto. I'm bored to death by the auto transmission, to the extent that I'm looking to replace it with a manual car just so I can enjoy shifting gears again.

I agree with both points and arguements. It just depends where you are and the conditions...

I like the effortless motion of an electric motor. The new CVT powered cars which are available in the Ford line for one, seem to try to to do the same thing, NO gearshifts.

I am old , hurt and tired. I'll leave the gear jammin, to you young guys!