The End of Manual Transmission
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I drive a stick shift. It’s a pain, sometimes. Clutching and shifting in bumper-to-bumper traffic wears you out. My wife can’t drive my car, which limits our transit options. And when I’m at the wheel, I can’t hold a cold, delicious slushie in one hand, at least not safely. But despite the inconvenience, I love a manual transmission. I love the feeling that I am operating my car, not just driving it. That’s why I’ve driven stick shifts for the past 20 years.
That streak may soon be over. When it comes time to replace my current car, I probably won’t be able to 2.4 percent. Among the hundreds of new car models for sale in the United States this year, can be purchased with a manual transmission. Electric cars, which now account for of car sales, don’t even have gearboxes. There are rumors that Mercedes-Benz plans to manuals entirely by the end of next year, all around the world, in a decision by electrification; Volkswagen is said to be dropping its own , and other brands are sure to follow. Stick shifts have long been a niche market in the U.S. Soon they’ll be extinct.
