Did you think the C8 Chevy Corvette would get a manual? No, we didn’t either

Benjamin Franklin is said to have said, “I’d rather be a pessimist because then I can only be pleasantly surprised.” There’s satisfaction in being right, and even more satisfaction in being wrong. Like, he probably never thought Revolutionary War airports would happen, but here we are. Anyway, our satisfaction is limited this morning to saying we aren’t surprised, as what we all assumed now seems certain: The 2020 Chevy Corvette … the Stingray, the C8, the mid-engine ‘Vette … will not be getting a manual transmission.

Motor Authority extensively quotes Corvette lead engineer Tadge Juechter, who not only buries the idea, he just continues to shovel dirt on it.

First he offers a blunt “No.” No chance a manual will ever come back.

Then, “We couldn’t find anybody honestly who’d be willing to do it. Because just like the automatic, the DCT, it would have to be a bespoke manual,” Juechter said.

Then, “It’s low volume, very expensive. The reason is, it’s a low-volume industry. That industry is dying — building manual transmissions.” 

Enough already! And yet he keeps shoveling. He puts the take rate for the manual in the C7 Corvette at 15 percent, which, compared to a lot of other cars, isn’t all that bad. But he says, “Every year it goes down, down, down, down.” When Chevy offered an automatic in the Z06, which was traditionally all-manual, the manual take rate fell to 15 percent in that car. “Everybody buys the automatic.”

OK, we’re getting the picture. Jeez.

So let’s all look ahead to a bright new dual-clutch future. Juechter goes on to talk about the challenges Chevy and transmission maker Tremec faced in putting an eight-speed DCT in the C8. For details, head on over to Motor Authority.