Stick Shifts Make Up Less Than 4% of New Car Purchases, Can You #SaveTheManual?

[Moby45]

Honestly, the only people who can save the manuals are ones who can afford to buy new cars in the first place. So if those people quit buying manuals then there will be no more manuals.

I would be happy to buy a new car but I can not afford one and most of the base cars out there have more than what I want which makes them too expensive also. Then you have the other side of the coin where you can get a manual in a cheap car but it's a cheap no fun car that usually looks like crap and has no life to it.

Lets get all of our rich friends to buy manuals. lol

 

[TexRex]

Anyone else craving a BLT?

 

[Turbotwin01]

I hate to bring up the much-used Rolls-Royce example, but... Rolls-Royce. Can you imagine hopping into one of the new ones and having to row your own? How... undignified.

If you are the one driving the rolls you are doing it wrong.

 

[JrDarknes]

I used to hate that sport cars werent being made manual anymore.

Then my dad bought a boxster 718 as a stick shift. He told me to drive it and tell me what I thought about it. It honestly was not a fun car to drive and I would of much prefered the paddle shifters. If all new cars feel anything like the 718, I would not care if they got rid of it completely. It felt awful. I would only be happy if they felt like most older cars I've driven. His 2001 boxster had less hp I think but was really fun to drive.

 

[CarreraGT]

Save the manual by buying a manual. But in all seriousness, I used to worry about this but I have come to the realisation that all the cars I could ever want to own have already been built, so I'm not too worried whether manufacturers keep making manuals or not. That probably sounds selfish, but clearly I'm in the minority for wanting a manual in the first place, so I'll just enjoy the cars we already have.

New cars are too heavy and diluted anyway, and you can't even fart without some kind of a warning light or alarm bell going off. I'll stick with my E36 M3 and add a few more to the collection as I get older.

 

[CodeRedR51]

Wouldn't have it any other way. #savethemanuals

 

[TexRex]

Wouldn't have it any other way. #savethemanuals

Something tells me that RV is an auto, though.

 

[samdu]

The manual transmission, aka the best theft prevention device in the US.

Side note: Is anyone else confused about the context of that stock photo? Just me?

I have never let anyone valet park any of my cars. I just don't feel right about it. If I can, I generally avoid lots with valet parking. And I've been lucky in that regard. Until about a week ago. Went to a restaurant in Downtown Charleston. The location of the restaurant is in an area of town that isn't great right now. It's on the fringes of the super ritzy part of downtown and the really terrible part of downtown, but it'll be prime in a few years. Anyway, I drove around looking for a parking spot for a bit and couldn't find one close enough, so I went back and begrudgingly pulled into the valet lot in my Miata. The valet walked over to my car, took the briefest of glances inside and said, "If you want, you can just park it yourself and not bother with a ticket. It'd be easier." I drove my manual Miata over to the parking space he pointed to with a nice, big grin on my face.

 

[samdu]

I used to hate that sport cars werent being made manual anymore.

Then my dad bought a boxster 718 as a stick shift. He told me to drive it and tell me what I thought about it. It honestly was not a fun car to drive and I would of much prefered the paddle shifters. If all new cars feel anything like the 718, I would not care if they got rid of it completely. It felt awful. I would only be happy if they felt like most older cars I've driven. His 2001 boxster had less hp I think but was really fun to drive.

My roommate bought a Mini S several years ago. It was the first car I'd driven with paddle shifters. I fully expected to take to it like a fish to water. After all, they use paddle shifters in F1, so why would they not kick ass? Hated it. Hated everything about it. I'd rather drive an automatic (which I've never owned) than a car with paddle shifters. Closest I'll come is a motorcycle.

 

[Dr.Boss]

Wife and I just bought a 6 speed 2018 VW Alltrack last month to replace her five speed Ford Focus.

My current Daily Driver is a 6 speed 2001 Audi A6 2.7t. And i've got a 5 speed 1998 BMW M3 sedan as a weekend warrior.

Neither of us has ever owned an automatic car.

 

[Turbo951]

I wouldn't be surprised if the brake pedal will suffer the same faith as the manual transmission.
One pedal driving.

 

[Joey D]

I wouldn't be surprised if the brake pedal will suffer the same faith as the manual transmission.
One pedal driving.

Most electric cars don't need brake pedals since they use regenerative braking. I wouldn't be surprised once EVs become the norm, you see most new cars without brake pedals.

 

[ImaRobot]

Most of super die hard manual fans that bash on autos can't even afford a sports car for one and usually some yaris driver or something along those lines which is auto. I'm doing my part the question is can the fans do theirs or are they gonna have some pseudo passion for cars?

What?

If there's anything that would make a change, It's probably more likely that it'll be those people you're bashing, those buying lower end vehicles. Rather than those higher-end cars, as like you said, those purchases would likely be significantly fewer in general.

 

[Fredzy]

I think it's possible that one guy who totally sucks at driving manual can genuinely love every second of it, while the other guy can be flawless at it, basically a pro driver and be indifferent to it or even hate it. This is one of those things that's 100% personal taste, but people can't wrap their heads around it.

Assuming you've driven a manual-equipped car I'm not sure how you came to that conclusion. When I drive one, I don't need to pay any extra attention and I don't even drive a manual that often. When I'd race, it was a bit more involved though since gears mattered as did the shift points. On the road, it's just go up through the gears until you hit sixth, then just cruise along.

I can't disagree more strongly, I'm a big proponent of elston's original point. I've driven manual for 15 years, but have split my driving between a manual and auto for the last 5 or so. The more time I spend back in the seat of an auto, the more I realize that the simple requirement of having to manually shift gears forces a valuable layer of attentiveness into driving. Even though shifting happens as a subconscious effort, you still have to reserve some level of attention to what is going on, what is coming up, where the revs are so that you can be in the right gear at the right time, etc. Obviously this benefit diminishes once you get out cruising steady on a highway for long periods of time.

But that's me. I figured this would apply to everyone, but maybe not. Maybe other peoples' brains simply work differently. Which provides a good segue into the next point..

I disagree with this. A boring car will be a boring car regardless of what transmission is in it. A manual isn't going to make an Accord anything more than a family sedan with a manual, it's not suddenly going to be a driver's car.

Again, I disagree, but this is a taste thing. A manual transmission instantly converts any appliance into a real car for me. And anything without one is at least a little disappointing. A fast car with DSG can be fun, of course. Considering how little time I spend chasing tenths at the track, the fun-factor of a manual holds much more value for me than the performance edge of a DSG. But the options are diminishing, even for the enthusiast. When the F31 3-series wagon finally debuted a few years back, I was basically devastated by the fact that it would only be available in auto. Even my plan B - the new WRX hatch/wagon - was totally wrecked when they withheld the wagon from us. Not that it mattered, as it was never built with a manual in any market.

 

[Danoff]

The more time I spend back in the seat of an auto, the more I realize that the simple requirement of having to manually shift gears forces a valuable layer of attentiveness into driving.

I don't find that when I'm driving stick I'm any more attentive to "driving" than when I'm driving auto. It's possible I learned to be more attentive while driving stick instead of auto, but at this point I scan traffic the same way in cars of either transmission. It's just "driving". Now, I'm more attentive to manipulating the transmission when driving stick, but that's different.

Honestly though, you folks who just can't imagine driving anything else... honestly... there are TONS of cars that you wouldn't want a manual transmission in. You have to admit that.

 

[CodeRedR51]

I wouldn't be surprised if the brake pedal will suffer the same faith as the manual transmission.
One pedal driving.

I've been driving a Leaf all week with the e-Pedal and it's hard to get used to. And you do still need the brakes sometimes...

 

[TexRex]

"Stick shifts and safety belts
Bucket seats have all got to go
When we're driving in the car
It makes my baby seem so far"

 

[homeforsummer]

I've been driving a Leaf all week with the e-Pedal and it's hard to get used to. And you do still need the brakes sometimes...

That's interesting, as I took to it immediately. Found I could stop precisely where I wanted to by lifting off a certain amount at a certain point. It's very elastic, like the acceleration and deceleration of a slot car - movement precisely proportional to how far you're pressing down or releasing the pedal. For me it's no less intuitive than using the brakes to do the same. I was only driving for maybe 20 minutes or so, but I think I used the actual brake pedal maybe once.

 

[Turbo951]

I've been driving a Leaf all week with the e-Pedal and it's hard to get used to. And you do still need the brakes sometimes...

I didn’t find it hard to get used to, but I haven’t tried the new Leaf, just i3, old Leaf and Tesla.
Yes, we do still need the mechanical brakes, but for normal driving I think it will be almost eliminated. You can’t use regen braking for coming to a full stop. But you can use the battery power to stop the car. It’s just a matter of programming.

 

[Turbo951]

https://www.motortrend.com/cars/tes...erformance-track-mode-release-version-review/

 

[CodeRedR51]

That's interesting, as I took to it immediately. Found I could stop precisely where I wanted to by lifting off a certain amount at a certain point. It's very elastic, like the acceleration and deceleration of a slot car - movement precisely proportional to how far you're pressing down or releasing the pedal. For me it's no less intuitive than using the brakes to do the same. I was only driving for maybe 20 minutes or so, but I think I used the actual brake pedal maybe once.

You may find yourself in a situation in traffic where you will need it. Or going down a hill and coming to a stop at a stop sign.

 

[homeforsummer]

You may find yourself in a situation in traffic where you will need it. Or going down a hill and coming to a stop at a stop sign.

I'm not disputing that the brakes are needed occasionally (if they weren't, there wouldn't be a pedal there). What I'm saying is that I found the e-pedal intuitive enough that I barely needed the friction brakes at all because there's enough regen that the car stops fairly quickly just by lifting off. One of the stops on the route was an off-ramp to a stop sign, and I didn't even need the friction brakes there.

I imagine a driver who habitually uses the brakes more heavily in regular cars might struggle with it, and you'd obviously use the actual brake pedal in an emergency, but the idea behind the concept (and single-pedal techniques in other EVs) is that in most day-to-day driving the brake pedal doesn't see much use.

You can’t use regen braking for coming to a full stop.

I think the new Leaf pretty much does. As far as I'm aware it can use regen right down to a crawl, and then blends in some friction braking itself to enable it to stop smoothly (and it holds the brakes lightly whenever you're stopped, so it won't roll downhill). Other EVs I've driven still need a little braking for those last few mph (unless you're already creeping slowly or stopping up a hill) but the Leaf will bring itself right to a halt when the e-pedal is activated.

 

[UnkaD]

I'm planning on buying a 2005 Legacy Wagon with a 5-speed. I have to admit that while I first learned to drive in a manual car and understand the concept, I lack practice and experience. I'm mostly worried about rolling or stalling from standstills on slopes. My brother thinks I'm crazy since I drove semi trucks, but that's completely different. In the trucks you literally just let the clutch out until you feel the cab twist over then lift off the brakes. No roll ever. Easy.

 

[BionicDerp]

I think I'll end up getting a base Micra as my first "new" car just because the Manual is $4000 less...

 

[ScottPuss20]

Well, the problem is manufacturers are not giving the option. And current cars available in manual (personally) either don't appeal my taste, or are way too expensive.

It's the simple case of supply and demand.

 

[CarreraGT]

I used to hate that sport cars werent being made manual anymore.

Then my dad bought a boxster 718 as a stick shift. He told me to drive it and tell me what I thought about it. It honestly was not a fun car to drive and I would of much prefered the paddle shifters. If all new cars feel anything like the 718, I would not care if they got rid of it completely. It felt awful. I would only be happy if they felt like most older cars I've driven. His 2001 boxster had less hp I think but was really fun to drive.

Is that a joke? I spent a couple of hours driving a 718 Boxster s (manual) recently and it was absolutely sensational. Best manual box I have experienced

 

[RichiPuppy]

If you read the replies in this thread you would think you could walk into any car dealer and pick out any car and if you wanted it manual they would make it for you. The people posting that they don’t have a choice are right, and manufacturers decided when manuals were still a third of the market to stop offering them on a lot of models to save cost.

 

[05XR8]

Indeed. Camry stopped making manuals, Subaru Liberty/Legacy and Forester turbo, stopped. I find those cars fine to drive. Even many kei cars come with auto only.

 

[Murcie_LP640]

If I could afford a new car that had the choice of either transmission I would test drive both and then decide based on the individual transmissions. Not based on whether I'm more "in control" when I'm driving or more "involved."

 

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

I wonder if one could do a cross-correlation between the cars that are selling right now and cars that might actually be fun with a stick. Because the average van, SUV, crossover thing that you see driving everywhere is not going to be any more fun with a stick. So why would someone row gears in traffic when their car is no fun to drive anyway? The cars that people are buying today (in the US) aren't improved with a manual.

Very true, the percentage of cars that I would like a manual in would likely agree with the percentage in those charts.