MotorHeadline: Manual transmission becoming thing of the past
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I took Drivers Ed at Richmond in a 59 Chevrolet 3speed on the colum.
Have always had a manual transmission since my first car, 67 Mustang through to my 2022 Gladiator Overland. I enjoy participating in the movement and the control. An added benefit is car thieves don’t know how to drive them. Oh and my kilt is not a detriment.
I learned to drive a stick- shift 63 Chevy Nova. My Grandson’s Mazda has “paddles”. Once you learn to drive a “stick” you never forget how.
Honda still offers manual transmissions on lower trim Civic models plus some higher trim models. I have driven manual Hondas since 1975. My first even had a manual choke, which I loved. They are great for valet parking since you can park near the door and the valets cannot move your car.
Another factor is that many of today’s high performance automatic transmissions provide quicker acceleration than manual transmissions. Who wouldn’t want an automatic that was always in the right gear and was quicker than a manual? But there is a sense of oneness with the car that only comes with a manual. For used car buyers, it’s typically harder to abuse the engine with an automatic transmission. You can destroy the engine with a manual, (by downshifting to the wrong gear) but not typically with an automatic.