I used to be like that. I even had a 67 chevelle that I pulled the powerglide out of, and installed an m22 rock crusher 4 speed from a 66’ vette and converted the whole thing to manual. Installing that mechanical clutch linkage was a bitch.
But In my old age, im only driving stick if I absolutely have to. Ill take an automatic all day. The “cool” factor of it has worn off.
That's impressive, I bet the Chevelle was a blast to drive. I'm with ya on the internally aging cool factor - I love shifting gears, but admittedly automatics are so damn convenient.
I too am considering one of these at some point, of which I would take it to the track for the experience and I genuinely think I'd prefer the dual-clutch auto for that.
Just super impressed with what they are offering with this and excited for the revisions/upgrades to come.
I get the vibe some folks are just looking at this as a sports car, whereas this is truly a performance machine with supercar features at an unreal price. There was a lot of speculation the starting price was going to be 6 figures so this blew a lot of folks away.
Has anyone in this thread driven a 450+ horsepower modern car in manual? It's not fun. I got an automatic A8 transmission C7 Corvette but test drove the manual M7 version first. I was the same way, drove sticks as a kid and enjoyed the manual feel. Well, when you have 7 gears and you can hit 90 in 3rd gear it's pretty boring. You accelerate from 1 to 3, hit highway crusing speed and then switch over to 7? The C7 auto outsells the manual about 5 to 1 I believe, so yes, 80% of Corvettes in the last generation were autos.
I came from the "never would have an auto corvette" mentality and purchased one because the manual just isn't fun on them, the A8 is faster, and I can still use paddles if I need that manual feel. Or, if you really want the manual feel, buy a 90s era (or older?) sports car and enjoy it with a max of 5 gears. Makes a lot more sense there.
Honestly who even cares about manual? What kind of nonsense is that? I don't care if you're having "fun" while driving. It shouldn't have to be "fun" - it's a tool to get from A to B. Buncha weirdos.
I read most of these comments and skimmed the others, but is no one going to state the obvious? ...Doesn't look much like a Stingray.
I've never been a gear-head of any form but I've always appreciated the artistic style of certain cars. I think this is a really awesome looking vette but, to me, if you're going to call it a "Stingray", it should look a bit more like the source material.
Has anyone in this thread driven a 450+ horsepower modern car in manual? It's not fun.
I definitely understand why paddles have been the standard for super-car tier power for about as long as they've existed, since they have gone hand-in-hand with transmissions packing in a quantity of gears that would just be tedious to shift through (combined with levels of torque that user-error with shifting could be a genuine safety hazard).
I read most of these comments and skimmed the others, but is no one going to state the obvious? ...Doesn't look much like a Stingray.
Duh? It's a mid-engine performance car, not a front-engine straight-line car.
Of course it is going to look different that the classic Corvette lines.
Though I'm biased in thinking the GT 40 is one of the prettiest cars ever made, so I am a big fan of American performance cars opting for the mid-engine format.
Has anyone in this thread driven a 450+ horsepower modern car in manual? It's not fun. I got an automatic A8 transmission C7 Corvette but test drove the manual M7 version first. I was the same way, drove sticks as a kid and enjoyed the manual feel. Well, when you have 7 gears and you can hit 90 in 3rd gear it's pretty boring. You accelerate from 1 to 3, hit highway crusing speed and then switch over to 7? The C7 auto outsells the manual about 5 to 1 I believe, so yes, 80% of Corvettes in the last generation were autos.
I came from the "never would have an auto corvette" mentality and purchased one because the manual just isn't fun on them, the A8 is faster, and I can still use paddles if I need that manual feel. Or, if you really want the manual feel, buy a 90s era (or older?) sports car and enjoy it with a max of 5 gears. Makes a lot more sense there.
Great points. I drove a 580hp 2014 Camaro ZL1 Supercharged 6-spd, was heavenly and drove really well - I think I screamed it up to 80 in 2nd gear. I could see shifting to 2nd then 6th in that getting old for daily drives.
Wow, C7 had a 7-speed? I looked it up, 4 columns of gears to shift, insane!
I also view it as wanting to enjoy the car for what it was built for. If I take this new Vette to a track, as an amateur I'll need all the focus I have on gas/brake/steering so the auto would be ideal for me - plus it would yield faster track times even if I was a veteran with a stick.
Most supercars have the same setup as the C8, it's becoming uncommon for a manual trans to exist in supercars for performance reasons. I assume peeps that buy them want to get every ounce of performance out of them that they can and the C8 Vette is clearly trying to compete with them.
Has anyone in this thread driven a 450+ horsepower modern car in manual? It's not fun. I got an automatic A8 transmission C7 Corvette but test drove the manual M7 version first. I was the same way, drove sticks as a kid and enjoyed the manual feel. Well, when you have 7 gears and you can hit 90 in 3rd gear it's pretty boring. You accelerate from 1 to 3, hit highway crusing speed and then switch over to 7? The C7 auto outsells the manual about 5 to 1 I believe, so yes, 80% of Corvettes in the last generation were autos.
I came from the "never would have an auto corvette" mentality and purchased one because the manual just isn't fun on them, the A8 is faster, and I can still use paddles if I need that manual feel. Or, if you really want the manual feel, buy a 90s era (or older?) sports car and enjoy it with a max of 5 gears. Makes a lot more sense there.
My M3 is 415hp, and i'll say it can be tedious on long trips to have to shift, but I didnt buy the thing to be a highway commuter. Hit the windy mountain roads on a nice summer night and it makes the manual tranny so worth it.
Has anyone in this thread driven a 450+ horsepower modern car in manual? It's not fun. I got an automatic A8 transmission C7 Corvette but test drove the manual M7 version first. I was the same way, drove sticks as a kid and enjoyed the manual feel. Well, when you have 7 gears and you can hit 90 in 3rd gear it's pretty boring. You accelerate from 1 to 3, hit highway crusing speed and then switch over to 7? The C7 auto outsells the manual about 5 to 1 I believe, so yes, 80% of Corvettes in the last generation were autos.
I came from the "never would have an auto corvette" mentality and purchased one because the manual just isn't fun on them, the A8 is faster, and I can still use paddles if I need that manual feel. Or, if you really want the manual feel, buy a 90s era (or older?) sports car and enjoy it with a max of 5 gears. Makes a lot more sense there.
Other than the bolded portion, everything you say makes perfect sense. Paddle shifters are a miserable substitute for manual shifting. You can manually shift gears on a column shifter too and no one pretends that is fun.
I routinely skip gears when normal driving even in a 5 speed. I wouldn't buy a Corvette for a daily driver, it would be for a fun car. A giant portion of the "fun" would be eliminated for me with an automatic.
Has anyone in this thread driven a 450+ horsepower modern car in manual? It's not fun. I got an automatic A8 transmission C7 Corvette but test drove the manual M7 version first. I was the same way, drove sticks as a kid and enjoyed the manual feel. Well, when you have 7 gears and you can hit 90 in 3rd gear it's pretty boring. You accelerate from 1 to 3, hit highway crusing speed and then switch over to 7? The C7 auto outsells the manual about 5 to 1 I believe, so yes, 80% of Corvettes in the last generation were autos.
I came from the "never would have an auto corvette" mentality and purchased one because the manual just isn't fun on them, the A8 is faster, and I can still use paddles if I need that manual feel. Or, if you really want the manual feel, buy a 90s era (or older?) sports car and enjoy it with a max of 5 gears. Makes a lot more sense there.
It simply comes down to driver experience versus maximizing performance with the transmission. I agree that a manual would be more fun, no dispute.
However, for all the die-hard manual fans...what if you lined up your car in a drag race with the exact same car in auto form and got beat by a full car length or more...would you still feel satisfied?
BTW I'd genuinely like to see some of you track a high-powered manual car and see just how much more difficult it is. Perhaps many of you would just be content with a casual Sunday driver
However, for all the die-hard manual fans...what if you lined up your car in a drag race with the exact same car in auto form and got beat by a full car length or more...would you still feel satisfied?
BTW I'd genuinely like to see some of you track a high-powered manual car and see just how much more difficult it is. Perhaps many of you would just be content with a casual Sunday driver
What do you think the percentage of people who are buying new Corvettes are taking them to a track and racing them? It's got to be miniscule. I think it's more of a reflection of how fewer and fewer people even know how to drive a manual.
However, for all the die-hard manual fans...what if you lined up your car in a drag race with the exact same car in auto form and got beat by a full car length or more...would you still feel satisfied?
BTW I'd genuinely like to see some of you track a high-powered manual car and see just how much more difficult it is. Perhaps many of you would just be content with a casual Sunday driver
What do you think the percentage of people who are buying new Corvettes are taking them to a track and racing them? It's got to be miniscule. I think it's more of a reflection of how fewer and fewer people even know how to drive a manual.
The vast majority of Corvette owners are middle aged, certainly above 30 and likely above 40. That generation knows how to drive manuals yet they have increasingly preferred autos over the years. If it were the kids under 21 buying these things then yeah I would agree that not knowing how to drive a manual would be a factor... but it's not.
I see some people buying manuals simply so their wives can't drive the car (ha!). I really just found the manual to be more tedious than the auto. I get much more enjoyment from acceleration, music on high volume and riding with the top off than I do from a manual. To each their own.
However, for all the die-hard manual fans...what if you lined up your car in a drag race with the exact same car in auto form and got beat by a full car length or more...would you still feel satisfied?
BTW I'd genuinely like to see some of you track a high-powered manual car and see just how much more difficult it is. Perhaps many of you would just be content with a casual Sunday driver
What do you think the percentage of people who are buying new Corvettes are taking them to a track and racing them? It's got to be miniscule. I think it's more of a reflection of how fewer and fewer people even know how to drive a manual.
I'm sure it's a very small percentage, but I think the point here by GM is maximizing performance as they want and need this car to be viewed as a supercar and to compete with other higher-end performance cars (which rarely have manuals either).
Also, this car is brand new including the transmission. They probably spent massive $ on R&D not just on the transmission but the whole thing. Maybe they will consider designing a stick, but from Jone's point it doesn't seem like the demand is there for folks actually ponying up the $ for them.
Ive driven larry ellison's McClaren F1, with the center seat. Ive driven a 360 modena, 308 gts, a callaway TT vette, and dodge vipers. All with manual transmissions.
Ill still take an auto thank you, unless manual is only option.
I daily drove a 380 whp wrx that was a five speed and fucking hated it.
Ive driven larry ellison's McClaren F1, with the center seat. Ive driven a 360 modena, 308 gts, a callaway TT vette, and dodge vipers. All with manual transmissions.
Ill still take an auto thank you, unless manual is only option.
I daily drove a 380 whp wrx that was a five speed and fucking hated it.
No way, that is insanely awesome - any pics? A freaking F1 and a Callaway Vette?
I loved my stock WRX, but did always read warnings that heavily modifying them makes the "normal" driving less enjoyable.
I read most of these comments and skimmed the others, but is no one going to state the obvious? ...Doesn't look much like a Stingray.
Duh? It's a mid-engine performance car, not a front-engine straight-line car.
Of course it is going to look different that the classic Corvette lines.
Though I'm biased in thinking the GT 40 is one of the prettiest cars ever made, so I am a big fan of American performance cars opting for the mid-engine format.
But that’s missing the point. If you’re going to give a car a classic name, there should be at least modest, noticable nods to the predecessor. Otherwise, it’s just a marketing gimmick.
For a non-technical person who’s always liked “shiny fast cars”, this is a great one for the price! Even I can tell that from the look, franchise, price tag and minimal understanding of the stats that I see, it seems awesome. But unless I’m missing some extremely nuanced characteristics, this car is a Stingray in name only.
Has anyone in this thread driven a 450+ horsepower modern car in manual? It's not fun. I got an automatic A8 transmission C7 Corvette but test drove the manual M7 version first. I was the same way, drove sticks as a kid and enjoyed the manual feel. Well, when you have 7 gears and you can hit 90 in 3rd gear it's pretty boring. You accelerate from 1 to 3, hit highway crusing speed and then switch over to 7? The C7 auto outsells the manual about 5 to 1 I believe, so yes, 80% of Corvettes in the last generation were autos.
I came from the "never would have an auto corvette" mentality and purchased one because the manual just isn't fun on them, the A8 is faster, and I can still use paddles if I need that manual feel. Or, if you really want the manual feel, buy a 90s era (or older?) sports car and enjoy it with a max of 5 gears. Makes a lot more sense there.
Other than the bolded portion, everything you say makes perfect sense. Paddle shifters are a miserable substitute for manual shifting. You can manually shift gears on a column shifter too and no one pretends that is fun.
I routinely skip gears when normal driving even in a 5 speed. I wouldn't buy a Corvette for a daily driver, it would be for a fun car. A giant portion of the "fun" would be eliminated for me with an automatic.
Manually shifting with a column shifter is ergonomically horrendous, though.
Paddle shifting has its roots in Formula 1, and is ergonomically optimal.
It's definitely not the same feel as a center stick, but you still have manual control of the torque output in the same way.
Comments
They stopped repairing autos a long time ago at dealerships, they are remove and replace nowadays.
That does not really make the case for an automatic being lower cost to maintain, long-term, than a manual
I used to be like that. I even had a 67 chevelle that I pulled the powerglide out of, and installed an m22 rock crusher 4 speed from a 66’ vette and converted the whole thing to manual. Installing that mechanical clutch linkage was a bitch.
But In my old age, im only driving stick if I absolutely have to. Ill take an automatic all day. The “cool” factor of it has worn off.
That's impressive, I bet the Chevelle was a blast to drive. I'm with ya on the internally aging cool factor - I love shifting gears, but admittedly automatics are so damn convenient.
I too am considering one of these at some point, of which I would take it to the track for the experience and I genuinely think I'd prefer the dual-clutch auto for that.
Just super impressed with what they are offering with this and excited for the revisions/upgrades to come.
I get the vibe some folks are just looking at this as a sports car, whereas this is truly a performance machine with supercar features at an unreal price. There was a lot of speculation the starting price was going to be 6 figures so this blew a lot of folks away.
I came from the "never would have an auto corvette" mentality and purchased one because the manual just isn't fun on them, the A8 is faster, and I can still use paddles if I need that manual feel. Or, if you really want the manual feel, buy a 90s era (or older?) sports car and enjoy it with a max of 5 gears. Makes a lot more sense there.
I've never been a gear-head of any form but I've always appreciated the artistic style of certain cars. I think this is a really awesome looking vette but, to me, if you're going to call it a "Stingray", it should look a bit more like the source material.
Has anyone in this thread driven a 450+ horsepower modern car in manual? It's not fun.
I definitely understand why paddles have been the standard for super-car tier power for about as long as they've existed, since they have gone hand-in-hand with transmissions packing in a quantity of gears that would just be tedious to shift through (combined with levels of torque that user-error with shifting could be a genuine safety hazard).
I read most of these comments and skimmed the others, but is no one going to state the obvious? ...Doesn't look much like a Stingray.
Duh? It's a mid-engine performance car, not a front-engine straight-line car.
Of course it is going to look different that the classic Corvette lines.
Though I'm biased in thinking the GT 40 is one of the prettiest cars ever made, so I am a big fan of American performance cars opting for the mid-engine format.
Has anyone in this thread driven a 450+ horsepower modern car in manual? It's not fun. I got an automatic A8 transmission C7 Corvette but test drove the manual M7 version first. I was the same way, drove sticks as a kid and enjoyed the manual feel. Well, when you have 7 gears and you can hit 90 in 3rd gear it's pretty boring. You accelerate from 1 to 3, hit highway crusing speed and then switch over to 7? The C7 auto outsells the manual about 5 to 1 I believe, so yes, 80% of Corvettes in the last generation were autos.
I came from the "never would have an auto corvette" mentality and purchased one because the manual just isn't fun on them, the A8 is faster, and I can still use paddles if I need that manual feel. Or, if you really want the manual feel, buy a 90s era (or older?) sports car and enjoy it with a max of 5 gears. Makes a lot more sense there.
Great points. I drove a 580hp 2014 Camaro ZL1 Supercharged 6-spd, was heavenly and drove really well - I think I screamed it up to 80 in 2nd gear. I could see shifting to 2nd then 6th in that getting old for daily drives.
Wow, C7 had a 7-speed? I looked it up, 4 columns of gears to shift, insane!
I also view it as wanting to enjoy the car for what it was built for. If I take this new Vette to a track, as an amateur I'll need all the focus I have on gas/brake/steering so the auto would be ideal for me - plus it would yield faster track times even if I was a veteran with a stick.
Most supercars have the same setup as the C8, it's becoming uncommon for a manual trans to exist in supercars for performance reasons. I assume peeps that buy them want to get every ounce of performance out of them that they can and the C8 Vette is clearly trying to compete with them.
Has anyone in this thread driven a 450+ horsepower modern car in manual? It's not fun. I got an automatic A8 transmission C7 Corvette but test drove the manual M7 version first. I was the same way, drove sticks as a kid and enjoyed the manual feel. Well, when you have 7 gears and you can hit 90 in 3rd gear it's pretty boring. You accelerate from 1 to 3, hit highway crusing speed and then switch over to 7? The C7 auto outsells the manual about 5 to 1 I believe, so yes, 80% of Corvettes in the last generation were autos.
I came from the "never would have an auto corvette" mentality and purchased one because the manual just isn't fun on them, the A8 is faster, and I can still use paddles if I need that manual feel. Or, if you really want the manual feel, buy a 90s era (or older?) sports car and enjoy it with a max of 5 gears. Makes a lot more sense there.
My M3 is 415hp, and i'll say it can be tedious on long trips to have to shift, but I didnt buy the thing to be a highway commuter. Hit the windy mountain roads on a nice summer night and it makes the manual tranny so worth it.
Has anyone in this thread driven a 450+ horsepower modern car in manual? It's not fun. I got an automatic A8 transmission C7 Corvette but test drove the manual M7 version first. I was the same way, drove sticks as a kid and enjoyed the manual feel. Well, when you have 7 gears and you can hit 90 in 3rd gear it's pretty boring. You accelerate from 1 to 3, hit highway crusing speed and then switch over to 7? The C7 auto outsells the manual about 5 to 1 I believe, so yes, 80% of Corvettes in the last generation were autos.
I came from the "never would have an auto corvette" mentality and purchased one because the manual just isn't fun on them, the A8 is faster, and I can still use paddles if I need that manual feel. Or, if you really want the manual feel, buy a 90s era (or older?) sports car and enjoy it with a max of 5 gears. Makes a lot more sense there.
Other than the bolded portion, everything you say makes perfect sense. Paddle shifters are a miserable substitute for manual shifting. You can manually shift gears on a column shifter too and no one pretends that is fun.
I routinely skip gears when normal driving even in a 5 speed. I wouldn't buy a Corvette for a daily driver, it would be for a fun car. A giant portion of the "fun" would be eliminated for me with an automatic.
Has anyone in this thread driven a 450+ horsepower modern car in manual? It's not fun. I got an automatic A8 transmission C7 Corvette but test drove the manual M7 version first. I was the same way, drove sticks as a kid and enjoyed the manual feel. Well, when you have 7 gears and you can hit 90 in 3rd gear it's pretty boring. You accelerate from 1 to 3, hit highway crusing speed and then switch over to 7? The C7 auto outsells the manual about 5 to 1 I believe, so yes, 80% of Corvettes in the last generation were autos.
I came from the "never would have an auto corvette" mentality and purchased one because the manual just isn't fun on them, the A8 is faster, and I can still use paddles if I need that manual feel. Or, if you really want the manual feel, buy a 90s era (or older?) sports car and enjoy it with a max of 5 gears. Makes a lot more sense there.
Yes and I enjoy it much more than an automatic
Has anyone in this thread driven a 450+ horsepower modern car in manual?
if you really want the manual feel, buy a 90s era (or older?) sports car and enjoy it with a max of 5 gears. Makes a lot more sense there.
boom and BOOOM!
Has anyone in this thread driven a 450+ horsepower modern car in manual? It's not fun.
Yes I have, and quite simply, you are wrong.
Automatics are fine if you look at a car as an appliance or a tool to get from point A to point B. But that doesn't work for me
However, for all the die-hard manual fans...what if you lined up your car in a drag race with the exact same car in auto form and got beat by a full car length or more...would you still feel satisfied?
BTW I'd genuinely like to see some of you track a high-powered manual car and see just how much more difficult it is. Perhaps many of you would just be content with a casual Sunday driver
However, for all the die-hard manual fans...what if you lined up your car in a drag race with the exact same car in auto form and got beat by a full car length or more...would you still feel satisfied?
BTW I'd genuinely like to see some of you track a high-powered manual car and see just how much more difficult it is. Perhaps many of you would just be content with a casual Sunday driver
What do you think the percentage of people who are buying new Corvettes are taking them to a track and racing them? It's got to be miniscule. I think it's more of a reflection of how fewer and fewer people even know how to drive a manual.
However, for all the die-hard manual fans...what if you lined up your car in a drag race with the exact same car in auto form and got beat by a full car length or more...would you still feel satisfied?
BTW I'd genuinely like to see some of you track a high-powered manual car and see just how much more difficult it is. Perhaps many of you would just be content with a casual Sunday driver
What do you think the percentage of people who are buying new Corvettes are taking them to a track and racing them? It's got to be miniscule. I think it's more of a reflection of how fewer and fewer people even know how to drive a manual.
The vast majority of Corvette owners are middle aged, certainly above 30 and likely above 40. That generation knows how to drive manuals yet they have increasingly preferred autos over the years. If it were the kids under 21 buying these things then yeah I would agree that not knowing how to drive a manual would be a factor... but it's not.
I see some people buying manuals simply so their wives can't drive the car (ha!). I really just found the manual to be more tedious than the auto. I get much more enjoyment from acceleration, music on high volume and riding with the top off than I do from a manual. To each their own.
I think it's more of a reflection of how fewer and fewer people even know how to drive a manual.
Cars change. Fewer and fewer people know how to fire up and drive a Stanley Steamer.
Only 18 speeds, what gives?
However, for all the die-hard manual fans...what if you lined up your car in a drag race with the exact same car in auto form and got beat by a full car length or more...would you still feel satisfied?
BTW I'd genuinely like to see some of you track a high-powered manual car and see just how much more difficult it is. Perhaps many of you would just be content with a casual Sunday driver
What do you think the percentage of people who are buying new Corvettes are taking them to a track and racing them? It's got to be miniscule. I think it's more of a reflection of how fewer and fewer people even know how to drive a manual.
I'm sure it's a very small percentage, but I think the point here by GM is maximizing performance as they want and need this car to be viewed as a supercar and to compete with other higher-end performance cars (which rarely have manuals either).
Also, this car is brand new including the transmission. They probably spent massive $ on R&D not just on the transmission but the whole thing. Maybe they will consider designing a stick, but from Jone's point it doesn't seem like the demand is there for folks actually ponying up the $ for them.
60k isn't too bad is it?
Considering it's competing with cars north of 100k, it's not too bad.
Ill still take an auto thank you, unless manual is only option.
I daily drove a 380 whp wrx that was a five speed and fucking hated it.
Ive driven larry ellison's McClaren F1, with the center seat. Ive driven a 360 modena, 308 gts, a callaway TT vette, and dodge vipers. All with manual transmissions.
Ill still take an auto thank you, unless manual is only option.
I daily drove a 380 whp wrx that was a five speed and fucking hated it.
No way, that is insanely awesome - any pics? A freaking F1 and a Callaway Vette?
I loved my stock WRX, but did always read warnings that heavily modifying them makes the "normal" driving less enjoyable.
I read most of these comments and skimmed the others, but is no one going to state the obvious? ...Doesn't look much like a Stingray.
Duh? It's a mid-engine performance car, not a front-engine straight-line car.
Of course it is going to look different that the classic Corvette lines.
Though I'm biased in thinking the GT 40 is one of the prettiest cars ever made, so I am a big fan of American performance cars opting for the mid-engine format.
But that’s missing the point. If you’re going to give a car a classic name, there should be at least modest, noticable nods to the predecessor. Otherwise, it’s just a marketing gimmick.
For a non-technical person who’s always liked “shiny fast cars”, this is a great one for the price! Even I can tell that from the look, franchise, price tag and minimal understanding of the stats that I see, it seems awesome. But unless I’m missing some extremely nuanced characteristics, this car is a Stingray in name only.
Has anyone in this thread driven a 450+ horsepower modern car in manual? It's not fun. I got an automatic A8 transmission C7 Corvette but test drove the manual M7 version first. I was the same way, drove sticks as a kid and enjoyed the manual feel. Well, when you have 7 gears and you can hit 90 in 3rd gear it's pretty boring. You accelerate from 1 to 3, hit highway crusing speed and then switch over to 7? The C7 auto outsells the manual about 5 to 1 I believe, so yes, 80% of Corvettes in the last generation were autos.
I came from the "never would have an auto corvette" mentality and purchased one because the manual just isn't fun on them, the A8 is faster, and I can still use paddles if I need that manual feel. Or, if you really want the manual feel, buy a 90s era (or older?) sports car and enjoy it with a max of 5 gears. Makes a lot more sense there.
Other than the bolded portion, everything you say makes perfect sense. Paddle shifters are a miserable substitute for manual shifting. You can manually shift gears on a column shifter too and no one pretends that is fun.
I routinely skip gears when normal driving even in a 5 speed. I wouldn't buy a Corvette for a daily driver, it would be for a fun car. A giant portion of the "fun" would be eliminated for me with an automatic.
Manually shifting with a column shifter is ergonomically horrendous, though.
Paddle shifting has its roots in Formula 1, and is ergonomically optimal.
It's definitely not the same feel as a center stick, but you still have manual control of the torque output in the same way.