What Great Car Was Ruined By Its Transmission?

Photo: Maserati

For car enthusiasts like you and me, a car’s transmission is a super important part of the overall experience. In a lot of ways, it can be even more important than the engine it’s attached to or the car it’s in. A good manual — or hell, a good automatic — can really make a car great, even if the rest of it isn’t the best. However, there’s another side to that, and it got me thinking about today’s question.

The Maserati Biturbo Is Bad, And That Makes it Great

I want to know what great car you think was ruined by its transmission. There are tons of great options. Maybe it was the wrong transmission for the car — a slushbox in a supercar, like the Mercedes-Benz SLR. Maybe it’s a lackluster manual transmission (looking at you, BMW M4).

Hell, maybe it’s just a piece of shit transmission that never should go in any car. A great example of that is the early-2000s Maserati Quattroporte with that dumbass automated-manual transmission. Perhaps it is a goddamn CVT in the highest-performing car Subaru makes right now.

Whatever the reason, there are plenty of examples of shitty transmissions in otherwise good cars. So, now it’s your turn. Why don’t you head down below and let me know what you think is the best example of this unfortunate circumstance? As always, you get extra points (redeemable at Dave and Busters) if you tell me why you think the transmission makes it so shitty. Also, please do not be afraid to say a manual transmission made a car bad. It’s really okay. This is a safe space, I promise.