WASHINGTON — Fewer Americans own a car with a manual transmission, let alone know how to operate one, than just a generation ago, and as a result the stick shift is an increasingly rare option.
U.S. News & World Report said that in 1987, 25 percent of cars and 30 percent of trucks were sold with a manual transmission. Today, only about 5 percent of vehicles sold in the U.S. are manual transmission.
There are at least two reasons: Manual transmissions no longer provide better gas mileage, and today’s drivers, many of whom spend hours a week stuck in traffic, have little interest in the clutch.
Today’s automatics have quicker shift times, more gears for better acceleration, quieter and more efficient highway cruising and better fuel economy, U.S. News said. Modern automatic transmissions have six, seven or even eight speeds, and newer, automatically controlled continuously variable transmissions, or CVTs, provide even better gas mileage.
U.S. News estimates that as few as 18 percent of U.S. drivers today even know how to operate a manual transmission.
There is a certain driver that still seeks out a manual, and most auto manufacturers still offer them on at least some of their models, but if you love that third pedal, be advised: The next owner probably won’t.
“Having a stick shift car is actually bad for resale value,” Jamie Page Deaton, at U.S. News & World Report, told WTOP. “In fact, on average, [used] cars with manual transmissions sell for $2,000 less than cars with automatic transmissions.”
But for the driving enthusiast, manuals are not just relegated to six-figure exotic sports cars or expensive German sedans.
“About 60 percent of the Mazda MX5 Miata models that are sold in the U.S. are sold with a manual transmission because that’s just a fun car,” Page Deaton says. “It’s the same with a Ford Focus. Go and get yourself an automatic transmission Ford Focus if you want a good, reliable commuter car. If you want to have fun, go get a Focus RS, which comes with a manual.”
Ford’s No. 1 selling manual-equipped car is the Mustang. Manual transmission models of Chrysler’s Jeep Wrangler are also popular, as are the Fiat 500 and Mini Cooper.
Traffic congestion, modern infotainment systems and autonomous driving are all adding to the increasing rarity of manual transmissions.
“For manual models to exist, there has to be a way for those models to seamlessly be able to accommodate technology without distraction,” said Jacob Brown, a product communications specialist with Mazda.
The manual transmission, as long as auto manufacturers continue to offer it, will always have buyers. Car & Driver is using Twitter to drive the hashtag #SavetheManuals.
And Popular Mechanics has a list of the 20 best cars that still offer a manual transmission.
