If you've ever driven a vehicle with a poor gearbox, you'd really care about gearbox quality! 
To give you some real world examples: Mitsubishi 3 speed automatic, smoothly shifts, great fuel economy for an automatic, but HORRIBLE performance. It's hell on the highway as it makes the engine redline at 82mph! (132km/h). Such a gearbox would lower the vehicle's performance stat, and increase it's fuel stat...
The dodge version of the same transmission is plagued with issues in the mid 90s Grand Caravan. As such many of those models are considered crappy cars to buy. Durability and Quality ratings have decreased.
Ever driven an automatic with a jerky shift? Or how about Alfa Romeo and their weird second gears, certainly the comfort ratings of those gearboxes are lower... As an effect they effect the overall perception of the driver.
From my days working in the auto industry, 10% of the population don't even know what brand of car they drive. So no, they don't care what gearbox the vehicle has, but they do care how it effects the vehicle.
So yes, components should effect all stats of the vehicle. BUT they're not the only stats to factor in.
You bring up quality for instance. Well this is the quality of, Materials, body panels, interior, design, chassis, suspension, engine, fuel, gearbox, gears, design focus, so on , and so forth. Your "Gearbox quality" probably only plays a few % into the grand scheme of things, so no you probably wouldn't notice any more than a half star between the best and the worst. (The consumers will know though )
To give you some real world examples: Mitsubishi 3 speed automatic, smoothly shifts, great fuel economy for an automatic, but HORRIBLE performance. It's hell on the highway as it makes the engine redline at 82mph! (132km/h). Such a gearbox would lower the vehicle's performance stat, and increase it's fuel stat...
The dodge version of the same transmission is plagued with issues in the mid 90s Grand Caravan. As such many of those models are considered crappy cars to buy. Durability and Quality ratings have decreased.
Ever driven an automatic with a jerky shift? Or how about Alfa Romeo and their weird second gears, certainly the comfort ratings of those gearboxes are lower... As an effect they effect the overall perception of the driver.
From my days working in the auto industry, 10% of the population don't even know what brand of car they drive. So no, they don't care what gearbox the vehicle has, but they do care how it effects the vehicle.
So yes, components should effect all stats of the vehicle. BUT they're not the only stats to factor in.
You bring up quality for instance. Well this is the quality of, Materials, body panels, interior, design, chassis, suspension, engine, fuel, gearbox, gears, design focus, so on , and so forth. Your "Gearbox quality" probably only plays a few % into the grand scheme of things, so no you probably wouldn't notice any more than a half star between the best and the worst. (The consumers will know though
)
"great writers are indecent people, they live unfairly, saving the best part for paper.
good human beings save the world, so that bastards like me can keep creating art, become immortal.
if you read this after I am dead it means I made it." ― Charles Bukowski
good human beings save the world, so that bastards like me can keep creating art, become immortal.
if you read this after I am dead it means I made it." ― Charles Bukowski