I test drove a car with a 6-speed manual transmission recently. I was cruising at 65 MPH on the freeway and I shifted between 5th and 6th gears, and the RPM stayed exactly the same between those two gears (at the same speed). I shifted back and forth several times just to make sure, and nothing changed. So does this mean that the 6th gear is really the same as the 5th gear and the transmission is really just a 5-speed with two positions for the 5th gear? I could not get the specification for the transmission gearing, so I am not sure what the difference is between the two top gears. But do car makers do things like this? Fake a 6-speed manual when they really only have 5-gears? What other factors could have caused the RPM to remain the same between the two gears? Thanks.

 

What kind of car (year, make, model)??

 

Yes it happens all the time. Car makers will put a mechanical linkage into the shifter that just shifts the car back into 5th gear when you think it is 6th. This happened because of a study done by McKinsey and Co. (see an article in the last McKinsey Quarterly) which concluded that consumers often say they want "a six-speed car" even though there is almost no difference between a 5sp and 6sp, and that potential buyers will pay more for the extra gear and be more satisfied with their decision to do so, even if they do not realize the car is actually a 5 speed.

 

why am I not shocked at all to hear this. Never thought of it but it is a great idea IF you are on the selling end of the car. I wonder how many people have cars that do this and do not know it.

 

 

was that a joke?

 

No, it is not a joke. I did not want to name the car because I did not want to get into a discussion of the particular car itself. All I can say is that it is a current model sold in the US.

 

Come on, you've got to tell us the make/model of the car, or at least the make.

 

 

Enzo?

///Robin