Stick Shafted

Audi AG has an ambitious $15 billion investment slated for the next five years, with 70% earmarked for new product.

One item the auto maker may be cutting from its investment plan, however, is manual transmissions for the U.S.

Audi officials, at a roundtable discussion at the recent North American International Auto Show, admit they're considering doing away with the stick shift for its mainstream U.S. models.

“It's conceivable in the U.S. we may dispense with manuals,” Johan de Nysschen, executive vice president of Audi of America Inc., says.

Manual-transmission installation rates in the U.S. continue to fall. And despite ongoing efforts to reinforce the brand's sporty characteristics, Audi cannot ignore the reality that most U.S. customers — as opposed to Europeans — simply do not want to deal with a clutch pedal, de Nysschen says.

“For us, the S-Tronic represents the best of both worlds,” he says, referring to Audi's version of parent Volkswagen Group's successful automated manual transmission, named Direct Shift Gearbox.

The S-Tronic is a dual-clutch manual transmission fitted with an electrohydraulic module that automatically actuates the clutch. The high-tech transmission can shift gears on its own, just like an automatic transmission, or allows the driver to shift gears sequentially, without a clutch pedal.

De Nysschen stresses that Audi's high-performance S and RS variants of its mainstream models would continue with manual transmissions, because those buyers typically seek the full control of a manual transmission and clutch pedal. Audi currently has S or RS variants of almost all its standard model lines except the Q7 cross/utility vehicle.

He says Audi expects to further expand use of the dual-clutch S-Tronic gearbox to replace both manual and conventional torque-converter automatic transmissions.