According to today’s reports, GM’s Bob Lutz said the 2009 Pontiac G8 GT will have an optional six-speed manual transmission made by Tremec. Previously, enthusiasts were told they’d have to wait for the 400hp G8 GXP before they could get six cogs and three pedals.
The 361-horsepower G8 GT is currently only offered with a six-speed automatic, which many criticize for its slow shifts. The news comes from an interview Cardomain held with Lutz, the Vice Chairman of Global Product Development at GM, during which he also revealed manual transmissions hurt the overall fleet fuel economy, as modern automatics are more fuel efficient than their earlier counterparts and even beat out manuals. While that’s a somewhat questionable claim, seeing how GM’s Cobalt gets 2 more miles to the gallon on both city and highway cycles in stick-shift trim than automatic, it may be true in higher-end offerings, though those are hardly offered with manuals nowadays, so comparisons are not possible.
And that’s not counting the fact that enthusiasts prefer manual transmissions over slushboxes because they sometimes allow more driver involvement, better control of the vehicle, and a lower price point as icing on the cake.
Lutz also mentioned the upcoming Camaro will be offered with the same Tremec six-speed manual, but didn’t specify when or if it will be bolted to all available engines.
