Auto vs. Manual

[ToniCipriani]

I don't want a V8 might be the most Canadian thing ive ever heard aside from hockey jargin.

Well it's more so my driving is mostly city and gas is friggin' expensive.

Also this Canadian doesn't know jack about hockey.

 

[dtuna42]

For your Blackwing, did you go for the automatic or manual transmission?

Why?

Automatic; this is my daily driver, and I am selling real estate, so I'm driving around and working from the car all day

 

[MookdocOE]

Automatic, I have a wife and life's about compromises? This is the last compromise on my end.....

 

[+ManifoldPSI]

First time Caddy owner here and MT was the only reason I didn’t choose something else. But, so glad I did. The car is pleasing on so many levels. The transmission is much smoother than I thought it would be and effortless.

Same here. Heavily considered a 2011/12 CTS-V with the LSA, but that combo just wasn't enough for me to pull the trigger. Felt to me like one of, if not the first, "world-class" Cadillacs in terms of being the whole package (brakes, suspension, engine, looks, 'Ring-tuned, etc.) BW takes that to a whole 'nother level.

Manual. Only reason it truly interested me.

I have a manual 2018 2SS and was thinking of selling to get a ZL1. The BW entered my awareness and was "my" ZL1 that could carry my family. All needs meet and loving it. Still have the 2SS.

Super similar to me. I have a '15 Z/28. Same overall trans (not the same version- I believe that was the MM6, not sure what the 5BW has). A "hardcore" performance 4 door Cadillac with a supercharged V8 and a 6MT in a package that won't ever exist after this? Sign me the heck up! Z/28 and BW serve different purposes but provide the same driving satisfaction in the end.

Manual for me. I also own a Dodge Viper and I thoroughly enjoy the amount of driver engagement required by the manual transmission. Also, this is the very end of an era - the last American-made, RWD, manual transmission, V8, four-door sedan in production. Nostalgia counts for something too! I have several hundred miles on my CT5V Blackwing and I have enjoyed every one of them. I'm very happy with my transmission choice!

A fellow Viper owner? What've you got?

 

[Roadhawk]

MT - only choice for me. Otherwise might have been driving an RS3 instead (but glad for the caddy in most every way). I've always had MT cars and the additional driving engagement and control make driving fun for me. Wife drives MT as well so no restriction.

I've only ever once purchased an automatic - a 1997 Mazda Millenia S - a truly wonderful car - but one I was happy to replace purely due to it being an auto....otherwise I hold on to cars pretty much to where they don't run anymore...

 

[565565]

Manual, because it was cheaper.

 

[fordperfaddict]

Well it's more so my driving is mostly city and gas is friggin' expensive.

Also this Canadian doesn't know jack about hockey.

i figured as much, the 4BW is a hell of a car and 10mpg is a hell of a lot worse then the 18 you may get with the 4

 

[hawk02]

I traded up from a ’17 ZL1 M6 to a ’23 5BW M6 for two main reasons:

1. I love driving a manual gearbox. The Tremec TR-6060 was solid in the ZL1, but it’s even more refined in the Blackwing—tight, precise, and just more rewarding to row through.
2. Long-term value. The manual Blackwings will likely be one of the last GM performance sedans to come standard with a stick, and that rarity should help its value hold better over time.

No regrets—this car checks all the boxes.

 

[CBH]

Manual tranny with the V8 was the only reason I considered the vehicle..........and paid so much for it

My very first car was a '66 mustang inherited from my Dad when I was too young to drive it. But I started working on it to be ready when I turned 16. It was Ford's crappy green-dot auto. No way to manually shift gears, or start out in 1st. It was the worst of all autos.

I vowed I'd never own another vehicle without 3 pedals and for the past 40 years, have never considered violating that oath. Of course my wife's vehicles were automatic, but never mine.

I couldn't let the 5BW get away while they still existed..........

 

[RDATLTE]

Manual tranny with the V8 was the only reason I considered the vehicle..........and paid so much for it

My very first car was a '66 mustang inherited from my Dad when I was too young to drive it. But I started working on it to be ready when I turned 16. It was Ford's crappy green-dot auto. No way to manually shift gears, or start out in 1st. It was the worst of all autos.

I vowed I'd never own another vehicle without 3 pedals and for the past 40 years, have never considered violating that oath. Of course my wife's vehicles were automatic, but never mine.

I couldn't let the 5BW get away while they still existed..........

Similarly, I've never not owned a car with a manual transmission to this day. I taught my wife to drive on a manual which she can still do but, she prefers not to on a daily basis. So, prior to being married and until we got a 2nd car all manuals. Then, my cars have always been manuals until the present.

 

[MC24]

Same here. Heavily considered a 2011/12 CTS-V with the LSA, but that combo just wasn't enough for me to pull the trigger. Felt to me like one of, if not the first, "world-class" Cadillacs in terms of being the whole package (brakes, suspension, engine, looks, 'Ring-tuned, etc.) BW takes that to a whole 'nother level.


Super similar to me. I have a '15 Z/28. Same overall trans (not the same version- I believe that was the MM6, not sure what the 5BW has). A "hardcore" performance 4 door Cadillac with a supercharged V8 and a 6MT in a package that won't ever exist after this? Sign me the heck up! Z/28 and BW serve different purposes but provide the same driving satisfaction in the end.


A fellow Viper owner? What've you got?

2013 SRT - Black w/ Champagne Stripes...how about you?

 

[DZnutz]

Im glad that allocations are being wasted on auto cars, just means that these will be even rarer in 10 years. No one will want an auto.

 

[Bald Guy]

Im glad that allocations are being wasted on auto cars, just means that these will be even rarer in 10 years. No one will want an auto.

Maybe they'll make their leftover automatic transmission versions police squad cars. I'm sure that would scare the s*** out of people.

 

[sroth004]

Manual; was not even a consideration. Sold an ‘01 M5 a few years ago and while I have other manuals to drive the 4BW essentially replaced the M5. And for me, cars of this type need to be a manual for engagement and fun even if an auto is faster; just my old school nature.

 

[jbawden]

I think Castrol is the BEST oil.

 

[Throat Yogurt]

Go drive both. You'll buy the manual.

 

[nordique14]

Manual; was not even a consideration. Sold an ‘01 M5 a few years ago and while I have other manuals to drive the 4BW essentially replaced the M5. And for me, cars of this type need to be a manual for engagement and fun even if an auto is faster; just my old school nature.

E39 M5. Nice. One of my all-time favorite cars.

 

[ZoomieZoom55]

Automated manual. Converted to an SMG from a wrecked e46 M3. Best of both worlds.