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In the decade I've had a driver's licence, with only brief periods of automatic transmission ownership, I've owned exclusively manual transmission equipped vehicles. My mother was the same way; she recently purchased her first automatic transmission equipped vehicle (only one during my lifetime), due to shoulder related ailments.
She mostly purchases new. It was a total PIA to find her two cars previous to this one, as she had a color + trim package picked out, but the majority of available models had automatic transmissions. Manual models of any trim package were few and far between; both vehicles were purchased out of state and a considerable distance from home.
Today, the only manual transmission vehicles I see are 'enthusiast cars.' The younger market, 'car guys' etc, seem to comprise the majority of manual vehicles on the road, at least in my experience. Even ten years ago, it wasn't uncommon to see manual trans light-duty pickups; I hardly see these anymore.
Personally, I've grown tired of driving manual. My next car will likely have an auto, especially with a more hectic commute.
My first car was a stick shift sports car. I learned how to drive it on the way home from the dealer. I had only tried to drive one other stick shift, and that was when my father let me try is Alfa Romeo in a parking lot one day. In any event, it's not that hard to learn.
I can drive a stick. It's not that hard. It's also not that much fun. I'd rather have a well-done automatic with the option to shift myself when I want to.
I've done it a couple of times it's not that bad. A dog leg is different too I wonder how many people here have driven that. My Porsche 914 was a dog leg.
Not hard at all. I have rented cars in Ireland and you quickly adapt. The pedals are the same as in the states and the shift pattern is the same. Actually, it makes one a more involved driver, so it helps considering that you are driving on the left side of the road....
It is rare to meet someone in Ireland that owns an automatic. Gas is $8/gallon so even a small difference in gas mileage adds up over the course of a year. When one gets a rental, if you want an automatic, one has to reserve it in advance and it costs more...
As for the stick, I believe that the stat is that 15% of the cars sold in the US have manual transmissions and that % is in decline. I learned to drive on an automatic, but we inherited a '66 Ford Falcon with a "three on the tree" so Pops showed me how to drive it. My wife can drive a stick. My three daughters (25, 23, 19) cannot. I supposed I should teach them but not on my fun car (91 Nissan 300ZX with a 5 speed)...
I didn't have any trouble with it when I rented a car at Heathrow and drove around the countryside and a bit in London. Became second nature after a few miles.
Add in a third "not that bad at all", it's FAR worse trying to remember to keep left when on rural backroads (an issue in Ireland). I just rented a car in Barbados and had no issues at all, except for some reason the wipers and signal stalks were reversed... so I kept turning on the windshield wipers.
If you're confident with manual transmissions it's really just the initial weirdness of doing it with your left hand and being on the wrong side of the car. I was over it within a couple hours.
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My Porsche 914 was a dog leg.
