The automatic transmission has become increasingly efficient, fast and affordable in the past handful of decades, leaving manuals to be left out of more vehicles.
Once the least expensive and most readily available transmission in most vehicle lineups, the manual is now consigned to bargain-basement variants of cars, or only the most engaging versions of performance vehicles.
Currently the only manual-equipped vehicle in Nissan’s Australian lineup is the Z sports coupe, which is sold for the same price in six-speed manual guise as it is for the nine-speed automatic.
When Nissan launched the Z Nismo, it ruffled feathers by only offering it as an automatic, given the self-shifting gearbox offered better performance on paper, though it has recently launched a manual version overseas in response to customer demand.
Speaking to Australian media, Yutaka Sanada, President and CEO of Nissan Motorsports & Customizing (NMC) and global head of Nismo, said, “customer demand for the three-pedal is coming back,” reflecting the brand’s Z Nismo decision.
“[The] Nismo tune is not about just a three-pedal car, [or] two pedal motor cars in a very unique tune… so maybe both,” Sanada said.
When asked by Torquecafe whether not launching the Z Nismo with a manual transmission was a mistake – given the response to its arrival – Nissan Oceania head of communications Steve Coughlan said the carmaker sees its path as the opposite.
“I think the key is to respond to [the] customer,” said Coughlan, who recently returned to Australia after serving as Nissan’s deputy director of global communications, which included Nismo.
“I think we see it the other way. I think it was they [Nismo] went forward with a path, and customer voice was like ‘no no, we really want [Z Nismo] manual.
“The market was moving heavily, as in most segments if not almost all, towards automatic, but the voice of the customer was loud and clear, ‘we would also love a manual’.
“On that basis I think it’s a good example of customer voice leading and pushing and actually being listened to.”
The Z Nismo is now the only Nismo model in global showrooms with a manual transmission, however it has been suggested the upcoming Japanese market next-generation Skyline sedan will not only be offered as a three-pedal, but get performance upgrades from the in-house department.
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