Manual Transmissions Soon Gone

[MRC01]

This generational difference is true. My daughter (who is in college now) learned to drive about 5 years ago. She learned to drive stick because we didn't own any cars with automatic transmission. She is the only one among her friends in high school & college who can drive a stick. So she gets stuck with all the driving. At least her friends chip in for gas. She tried teaching one of her friends in high school, but the friend never really got it. That said, while she's proficient she isn't really into driving. For her it's just a way to get around and she'd be just as happy with an automatic transmission. The love of driving didn't pass through the genes.

My company has valet parking and the valets tell me there is only 1 other stick shift car other than mine, among the hundreds of different cars they park each day. This low ratio has sample bias, since we're talking about execs with valet parking, lots of Teslas, big SUVs and Porsches.

 

[Lubener]

Now you did it... You created a panic buy situation. Everyone is going to head to the dealer and buy a new car with a stick shift. On the way home, they will load up on T.P.

 

[PimTac]

Yesterday as I started up a long and winding hill I decided to go manual. I moved the shift lever to the left and manually shifted up and down as needed. No clutch needed. At the top I pushed the shift lever back to the right and continued in automatic. I do that to keep the engine from lugging behind slower vehicles.

I haven’t owned a manual in almost thirty years. I don’t miss it.

 

[ArrestMeRedZ]

Now you did it... You created a panic buy situation. Everyone is going to head to the dealer and buy a new car with a stick shift. On the way home, they will load up on T.P.

Can't do it. One of the other reasons everybody buys an auto is because sticks aren't available. Even if they still make them in a model, dealer's won't order them.
It took us 3 years and a nationwide (well, at least west of the Mississippi) dealer search to find the wife's new Mazda 6 in an M6. In the summer of 2017 there were a sum total of 3 available in all the western states.

I used to say my wife demands a manual because she can't drive around in an auto in the wrong gear. I think she thought the old Rav 4 was a Rev 4, and she drove it like it was a Porsche. For some reason she does OK in the Mazda.

 

[TiGeo]

This article seems to be on every forum/FB group this week...it's not news...it's "duh". Plenty of cars can still be had with a stick (link below). Nobody wants a freakin' manual Tahoe, $80K lux'd out F-150, or cute-ute. Average people want to get in their vehicles and drive without much effort. I have one still in our stable (oldest son's now) and it's fun for sure and I've had my share of them since starting to drive (9 vehicles total since I started driving and I'm nearly 50....5 stick/4 auto) but love the dual-clutch auto in my Sportwagen and glad I didn't get the 6-spd in it as it was offered. Harder to get a lot of the new safety/autonomous features to work with one as well. Glad to see they are offering the Supra with a stick now (no idea why they didn't when it came out) and the new GR Corolla will have one as well as the only option. I really liked how some cars just came with one with no auto option b/c it was the best transmission for the car i.e. Focus ST, Focus RS, Civic Type R. I really wish my W8 was a 6-spd however...the Triptragic 5-spd auto is abyssmal and only 97 manual wagons were ever imported...sigh.

Also, the term "3-pedal" drives me nuts. It's a manual or a stick....my folks would call it a "standard" but I don't like that either b/c it's really an old term that not many use anymore. You can also say I have the "x-speed". When did folks start talking about "3-pedals"....must be the Millenials/GenZ kids...GET OFF MY LAWN!


https://www.motortrend.com/features/every-manual-transmission-car-for-sale/

 

[TiGeo]

Can't do it. One of the other reasons everybody buys an auto is because sticks aren't available. Even if they still make them in a model, dealer's won't order them.
It took us 3 years and a nationwide (well, at least west of the Mississippi) dealer search to find the wife's new Mazda 6 in an M6. In the summer of 2017 there were a sum total of 3 available in all the western states.

I used to say my wife demands a manual because she can't drive around in an auto in the wrong gear. I think she thought the old Rav 4 was a Rev 4, and she drove it like it was a Porsche. For some reason she does OK in the Mazda.

If you had a dealer, say Toyota, fill their lot with 100% manual cars, they would sit. The demand by the greater car-buying public just isn't there. Folks like you are a niche (not judging). I had to dig around to find my Focus when I bought it b/c I didn't want a base model, I wanted a loaded-mid trim with a 5-speed and it was in another state. I get it but this is a demand issue, not supply.

 

[TiGeo]

I wonder how much increased traffic has contributed to this.

I moved to the Atlanta area with a 6 speed Camaro Didn't take me long until I traded it on a sedan. That was me moving, but as traffic increases in many places that same thing probably takes place.

When I moved to Northern VA in 2000, the first thing I did was sell my '92 Toyota 4x4 pickup b/c it was a 5-spd and it sucked sitting in traffic with....picked up a Jeep Cherokee with an auto. Folks who say how great sitting in stop/go traffic is with a manual are full of it..like a craft beer drinker having a glass of something that objectively tastes horrible but they'll tell you how great it is even if they'd rather spit it out. Up there, getting a new vehicle with a stick off a lot was tough b/c the take-rate was so low b/c of traffic.

 

[ArrestMeRedZ]

If you had a dealer, say Toyota, fill their lot with 100% manual cars, they would sit. The demand by the greater car-buying public just isn't there. Folks like you are a niche (not judging). I had to dig around to find my Focus when I bought it b/c I didn't want a base model, I wanted a loaded-mid trim with a 5-speed and it was in another state. I get it but this is a demand issue, not supply.

Agree with you 100% on the first part. By in large, Americans want autos. The problem is, the 5% (+ or -) of people that want manuals can't get them because the dealers don't have them. So if you want a new car by default, it's an auto.
It's not that nobody wants them. It's that the few that do can't get them because they aren't available. Because the demand is low, it's easier for the dealers to simply order what the majority wants.

 

[TiGeo]

Agree with you 100% on the first part. By in large, Americans want autos. The problem is, the 5% (+ or -) of people that want manuals can't get them because the dealers don't have them. So if you want a new car by default, it's an auto.
It's not that nobody wants them. It's that the few that do can't get them because they aren't available. Because the demand is low, it's easier for the dealers to simply order what the majority wants.

Those folks can always order and be patient...that's what I did. Also, you have to look at which cars here....I guarantee you the local Subi dealer by me has manuals on the lot in the BRZ and WRX today if I wanted one or within a week or so at another dealer to get it. Crosstek? Not a chance b/c those folks aren't going to buy them. The cars offered with a stick now are primiarly enthusiast/performance cars and will be on lots as such. Basic economy cars that have an optional manual will likely not be on the lots b/c they will have a hard time selling them.

 

[PandaBear]

Stick used to be cheaper, not anymore if the economy of scale is not there. It also used to have more “gear or speed” so the final drive ratio is taller, not anymore now that we have 8 speed auto vs 6 speed manual. Not any faster shifts either as computer gets better.

It is more fun to drive, but only if you are not stuck in traffic jam 2 hrs a day. Also people are spending money on crew cabs and SUVs instead of sedans, so obviously they pick auto instead of stick.

Maybe in the future you need to buy at least a sport compacts of not mid range sport cars if you want stick. The only way it would make sense.

 

[Hall]

Shocked that there's no comments about people not wanting stick shifts because then they don't have a free hand to use with their phone while driving....

 

[Al]

Same arguments 50+ years ago. But obviously fewer and fewer choices.

 

[KGMtech]

Manuals used to be less expensive, more fuel efficient but those attributes are mostly gone. Today if you aren't texting in traffic, you might be updating your WAZE app, or your music playlist, or managing your too tall too expensive drink and need your right hand free. In the 1980's these distractions were way off in the future.

I say go with what technology has brought to the market, have your fond recollections of what was and how it felt to shift through all the gears.

 

[aquariuscsm]

I’m constantly wishing my Accord was a standard.

 

[TiGeo]

Shocked that there's no comments about people not wanting stick shifts because then they don't have a free hand to use with their phone while driving....

Because in 2022 we've moved past that mostly with Android Auto and Apple Car Play.

 

[TiGeo]

Manuals used to be less expensive, more fuel efficient but those attributes are mostly gone. Today if you aren't texting in traffic, you might be updating your WAZE app, or your music playlist, or managing your too tall too expensive drink and need your right hand free. In the 1980's these distractions were way off in the future.

I say go with what technology has brought to the market, have your fond recollections of what was and how it felt to shift through all the gears.

This is a crap excuse. In the 1980s we were fumbling with cassette tapes and suckin' on a Big Gulp/eating a Big Bite jsut the same all while driving a manual.

 

[Pew]

The only thing I miss from driving manuals is that it's easier to creep around without using the brakes. Otherwise I do not miss it.

 

[SeaJay]

Stick used to be cheaper, not anymore if the economy of scale is not there. It also used to have more “gear or speed” so the final drive ratio is taller, not anymore now that we have 8 speed auto vs 6 speed manual. Not any faster shifts either as computer gets better.

It is more fun to drive, but only if you are not stuck in traffic jam 2 hrs a day. Also people are spending money on crew cabs and SUVs instead of sedans, so obviously they pick auto instead of stick.

Maybe in the future you need to buy at least a sport compacts of not mid range sport cars if you want stick. The only way it would make sense.

Back in the day a MT was considered standard and the AT was an option with an upcharge.

One thing that didn't help the sale of MT cars was the move to 5 and 6 speed gear boxes. Back in the day they were mostly 3 and 4 speeds, less shifting. I drive an older Suby Outback CVT with a 4 cylinder engine. The CVT was an upcharge from the standard (and mostly unavailable 6 speed MT). I tried driving with the paddle shifters a few time, I can not imagine all the shifting required with a 6 speed MT on that power plant, it would get real old real fast. OTOH, a 3 or a 4 speed even would have worked fine in my car.

 

[ecotourist]

I’m constantly wishing my Accord was a standard.

Mine is. I have the 2007 EX-L 4 door sedan, V6 6MT. The price of the automatic and manual was identical. It's a fairly rare car. At least I've never seen another one in the wild. You can recognize them in traffic by the red text on the V6 trunk badge (as opposed to black on the automatics). And they have carbon fiber trim instead of wood in the interior.

The story seems to be that initially manuals have lower resale value but as they get older that changes. The manuals, being less common (rare even), become desirable to car guys and quasi collectors. But by the time I sell mine they aren't worth very much anyway.

 

[TiGeo]

Mine is. I have the 2007 EX-L 4 door sedan, V6 6MT. The price of the automatic and manual was identical. It's a fairly rare car. At least I've never seen another one in the wild. You can recognize them in traffic by the red text on the V6 trunk badge (as opposed to black on the automatics). And they have carbon fiber trim instead of wood in the interior.

The story seems to be that initially manuals have lower resale value but as they get older that changes. The manuals, being less common (rare even), become desirable to car guys and quasi collectors. But by the time I sell mine they aren't worth very much anyway.

When I was looking at new cars in 2013, the Accord came as a "sport" trim (4 door) with a 6-spd and there were some on the lots. Same with the Ford Fusion that year. Rare but you can find them.