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The manual transmission is vanishing. Here is a link to a list of every car model, both domestic and foreign, that offers a manual transmission option today.
The manual transmission is vanishing. Here is a link to a list of every car model, both domestic and foreign, that offers a manual transmission option today.
I would hate to this happen. I'm betting it's because people are getting lazier & refuse to learn how besides it hurts their ability to text while driving. I don't see a total decline of the manual gearbox though. If I'm not mistaken most car makers offer a granny gear in their trucks. Then of course you have the die hard people like me or love a good manual, even more so when it comes to have a sports car. Mustang, Miata, Porsche, etc.
80+ is still a fairly good number. The manual transmission is actually having a little renaissance. The (small)number sold on new cars doubled between 2011 and 2012. Stick shifts popular again, despite lower gas mileage
Why is it that whenever this topic comes up people who drive automatics are referred to as lazy or refusing to learn how to drive stick shift. Frankly I think it is more important for a driver to be concentrating on the road and not distracted by changing gears. Over 90 percent of passenger cars are automatic so it is the manual shifters who are the abnormal ones clinging to outdated technology.
I really don't see what the big deal is. You always hear about how "true" auto enthusiasts have to have a manual.
I just roll my eyes at that, F1 drivers don't shift their cars with a traditional manual, they use steering wheel paddles, and they're the best drivers on earth. I've had stick shift cars and cars with paddle shifters, I think both are fun to use, with the added benefit that if I don't want to shift myself, the paddle shift cars are fully automatic.
Are the people complaining about this issue the same ones complaining about newer auto technology like in the rain sensing wiper thread? Seems like it.
I would hate to this happen. I'm betting it's because people are getting lazier & refuse to learn how besides it hurts their ability to text while driving. I don't see a total decline of the manual gearbox though. If I'm not mistaken most car makers offer a granny gear in their trucks. Then of course you have the die hard people like me or love a good manual, even more so when it comes to have a sports car. Mustang, Miata, Porsche, etc.
Cars became majority automatic well before the bulk of the texting age. I'd imagine most kids don't even have a chance to learn a manual because they're literally never exposed. Most of their parents have all automatics, so it's the minority of kids who have the opportunity to learn. I don't see widespread "refusal" to learn. For driving, you learn what's put before you. The prize for learning to drive is the independence that comes from driving. With that motivation, kids would happily learn to drive a manual if their parents had a manual and taught them how to use it.
I really don't see what the big deal is. You always hear about how "true" auto enthusiasts have to have a manual.
I just roll my eyes at that, F1 drivers don't shift their cars with a traditional manual, they use steering wheel paddles, and they're the best drivers on earth. I've had stick shift cars and cars with paddle shifters, I think both are fun to use, with the added benefit that if I don't want to shift myself, the paddle shift cars are fully automatic.
Are the people complaining about this issue the same ones complaining about newer auto technology like in the rain sensing wiper thread? Seems like it.
Well, fwiw, F1 drivers aren't enthusiasts, they're athletes, at least on the track in F1 race cars. Perhaps in their private garages they are enthusiasts with manual transmission cars?
The good news is that while it is harder to buy a new car with a manual transmission, there are plenty of used cars available, even 50+ year old cars, at all price ranges, so an enthusiast will always be able to at least drive such a car in our lifetimes. And by the time we're dead, the car itself might no longer exist.
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I don't see a total decline of the manual gearbox though. If I'm not mistaken most car makers offer a granny gear in their trucks. 
Then of course you have the die hard people like me or love a good manual, even more so when it comes to have a sports car. Mustang, Miata, Porsche, etc.
