TommyDeVito

A watch is not a car. Next someone will be comparing pubic hair to manual transmissions.

rob-2

The difference with a vehicle is you get to interact with it. The more engaging the better. Every effort to make the car faster normally results in a computer which dials down engagement.

I don't drive my own car because I really wish I was on a train. Why would i want an automatic or autopilot?

Thomas Guide

It's very much on point and relevant. The conversation is about manual vs automated preferences. People prefer manual transmissions, manual watches, manually writing etc. vs those that like automation, like automatic transmissions, smart watch, and texting.

As we move more into an automated world you will find less and less manual type systems, and as @TheDonEffect pointed out people will pay a premium for this like with watches. I paid $2,250 for a Baume & Mercier watch with 3 movements... I could have bought a couple Apple smart watches with 100 times more functionality but the manual aspect of the internal technology appeals to me much more. I rather wind my watch every day then have a smart watch do it for me.

So now there are auto enthusiasts that would gladly pay a premium for a manual transmission if it was offered in their car of choice. If automakers understood the profitability angle, we might see a resurgence of manual transmissions in the future.

But to your point, some will like to manually cut their pubic hair with scissors, whereas others like the feeling of freshly shorn testicles after using electronic clippers.

TommyDeVito

To you, not to me. To me a manual transmission isn't comparable to a watch or cutting my balls. Each to their own though. A manual transmission in a car or on a motorcycle, requires all 4 limbs for use, total engagement. That isn't even comparable to me to a got damn watch or trimming your luscious vee down to your ball fro.

TheDonEffect

it is a very relevant comparison. It's an older technology that's being rendered obsolete to new technology, but loses a certain connection and interaction with the end user. Mechanical watches require you to set, sometimes wind the watch, and theres a satisfaction of seeing a well made mechanical system work.

But the metaphor really applies to the marketing of the technology, in that how do you market a system that is considered obsolete to people who have no interest in the added effort of the older tech. Yes, traditionalists still desire the old tech, but its becoming more and more of a niche crowd.

So I offer that idea of really building a great manual transmission, and treating it as a premium upgrade, vs the typical cheaper offering. People are dumb enough to want something that someone else told them is more desirable.

The Audemir Piaget Royal Oak comes to mind. The mechanical watch was all but dead, destroyed by the quartz movement. Why would people bother paying for an antiquated technology that requires them to exert effort to accomplish something the newer technology does flawlessly, and in this case, cheaper

This story should sound familiar.

Watchmakers could not sell their watches even at the value of what the precious metals in them were worth. AP then had the idea of essentially making a status symbol, hired an artist to pen up the design, really build a great mechanical watch, made it out of steel, and charge a ton for it because if you're rich, you can. The thought of selling a watch that's not as accurate, that requires a person to pay attention to it and actually set it and wind it occasionally, where there was better new technology that was more accurate and only require a, at the time, $2 battery replacement once every few years, oh and its just made of steel and it cost more than gold watches? It sold like hotcakes, and is credited for saving the mechanical watch market.

I offer this strategy to save our beloved manual transmissions. Instead of treating the manual transmission as the practical option, it should be treated as a high margin premium option, really make a good unit, special order, and charge accordingly. Tremec sorta comes to mind because as brand focused OEMs are, they're quick to out the name Tremec on their materials to let people know it has a good product.