Manual transmission has seen a steady decline over the last few decades, according to a recent article in The Wall Street Journal, due in part to the advances in vehicular technology that improved mechanics enough that manual transmission vehicles no longer necessarily have better fuel mileage, lower costs, or have faster acceleration compared to automatic cars.
Recently though, Autotrader reported a 13% rise in page views for new manual cars in 2023 compared with the previous year. According to data analytics company J.D. Power, manual transmission vehicles made up 1.7% of total new vehicle sales in 2023, a modest increase from 1.2% last year and 0.9% in 2021.
The article continues to say that sticking to manual transmissions among younger drivers is less about the technical aspect, but more about the visceral feel and the enjoyment of taking control of the clutch in a market increasingly dominated by automatic transmissions and the growing single-gear electric vehicle market.
The studies in the article also pointed to statistical data from some car manufacturers that have added manual models in their newer fleets. Mini added three new models to its lineup of stick shifts, while Mazda’s MX-5 Miata line has three of the five models having a manual-only option. After discontinuing manual transmissions in 2015, Acura revived it in June with the Integra, with plans of releasing a higher-performance Integra with no automatic option later in the year. A move based partially on company-sourced statistics that showed 25% of the 15,000 people who have bought 2023 Integras requested the manual transmission option.
According to a couple of car manufacturers mentioned in the article, people between the ages of 18 to 46 accounted for over half of those who opted for manual Integras, and those between 18 and 35 accounted for a quarter who purchased manual Miatas.
What’s the allure? Stick shifts, the article posits, have the same draw as vinyl records and point-and-shoot cameras. It was described as “cool,” and a skill that can be used overseas where manuals are more common. The interest in romanticized “classic” and “analog” technology isn’t new, but it is a draw for generations who never lived with technology as part of their daily lives.
It isn’t all roses though, the learning curve to learning to drive a manual isn’t easy if your first experience is automatic, and some drivers have conceded the ease of use afforded by automatics. That said, some enterprising entrepreneurs have taken this resurgence to put up a stick-shift driving school to cater to the market.
Car manufacturers admit that manual transmission may one day drive into the sunset. According to J.D. Power, the data analytics, software, and consumer intelligence company, manufacturers sold 43 different manual models in 2022 compared to 69 in 2019.
Stick-shift enthusiasts aren’t going down without a fight, according to the article. Social media’s #SaveTheManuals is a thing, with posts featuring the hashtag getting in the area of 435 million views on TikTok.
Link to the original article on The Wall Street Journal is available online here.
