@@metallboy25 It's the opposite for me, I have decent savings despite having an average job, because of the fact that I buy old, but somewhat maintained cars. I'd be broke if I had to pay 400€ lease per month for a new car.
Also, new cars are getting more expensive while manual transmissions are being relegated to higher trim-level cars. He said this in the video, but it used to be the case that manuals were the lowest-spec, cheapest options on new vehicles. Now they're much more money. If you want to save money, you might be buying used anyway. If you're a manual-driving car enthusiast in addition to that, then you'll pick a manual used car.
A manual transmission is the best anti theft device you can have on a car. I live right on the edge of Detroit. Someone literally tried to steal my car out of the driveway, and failed because they had no idea how to drive a stick.
Not to mention that you need to push the clutch in before you can start most manual transmission cars these days. That second brake pedal confuses many thieves. I knew how to drive a standard years before I was eligible for a driver's license.
LMAO yeah, I, too, left my car parked all night in some not so good parts of Detroit with the full confidence that it would still be there. Since it was the only manual transmission car.
Could not disagree more - in Feb 2020, there were 3 base trim Fits with a stick in all of Massachusetts, and if I wanted a mid-trim Fit, I needed to go to Chicago. Sounds like you lucked out when you bought.
I am 72 and gave up on manual transmission 20 years ago because couldn't stand them driving city traffic then driving manual transmission became impossible where I live in Seattle WAUSA
Me too!...Mine is a '22. I bought mine after my beloved Tacoma 5-spd was totalled by an AH in a collision. I bought a new Tacoma auto. and was disappointed from the start. Another good thing; my car starts with a key!
9 months ago i couldn't drive manual. Always wanted to, but no one could teach me. Bought a manual, taught myself with ample help from RU-vid, and I'll never buy auto again.
@@ssssaintmarcusindeed. In Finland most cars were for the longest time mostly manual so everyone is taught to use it. I drove 17 years with manual until I bought my first automatic and have not really missed manual that much.
@@ssssaintmarcus I've never understood this argument. I'm a 6 year owner of an '05 STi and everyone always claims they have "heavy" clutches, and I've driven Hondas and other "economy" manual cars and while the clutch is noticeably lighter, I've never considered my "heavy" clutch to remotely be a burden. Heavy traffic, no traffic, stand-still Interstate delays, long drives, none of it has ever been an issue. Even in 2+ hour drives I don't bother touching cruise control. Either I'm just built different or people overly exaggerate the heavy clutch myth as an excuse to drive automatics 🤷
I have a 1991 Toyota Previa 5 speed. Since it's a van, I've had people ask to borrow it to help move stuff. I tell them it's a manual. They ghost me. So nice to have a polite way of telling people: No one drives my car but me.
Learning to drive stick in my dad's 86 Pontiac Sunfire in an empty mall parking lot on a Sunday in Quebec will stay with me forever. Thanks for the video
Fond memories of my dad teaching me to stick as well. I learned to drive on an automatic but my first car was a stick. Lots of hills on back country roads made for great practice.
Multiple people have asked to borrow my truck and when I tell them it’s a manual they either back out or a couple of them asked me teach them. It made me feel even more useful
Most people who never drove manuals will never understand. If you want to feel your vehicle the most it’s thru a manual. Most people are just lazy and just to not think about driving. I’ve had a AMT for over a decade now solely due to them stopping to produce Standard transmissions on the vehicle I wanted. I get it though if only a small portion of us want them it doesn’t make business sense but it sux
I bought a 2001 Ranger via Craigslist in February 2023 to learn how to drive manual. The seller took 30 minutes of his time to teach me the basics. Thanks Andy.
Honestly, if you don't use it you lose it. When I bought my ND miata (right before the pandemic when prices were normal), my mom wanted to take it around the block. At that point, the last time she drove a manual was 1982 and that car would have been my grandpa's chevy c10, which is the car she learned to drive on. Needless to say my mom was very rusty.
@@andrewmaximo4485 The opposite is true, too. Now that the Ranger is my daily, I’ve started occasionally pressing phantom clutch pedals when I drive an automatic from time to time.
@Sunday_Woodward if I go back to auto it will be electric (although i hope they use manual gear boxes on ev's to extend range, i think toyotais toying around with that tech). But I got my eye on that new gr Carolla with the 300hp 3 cylinder and 6 speed. I don't want the auto Rev match and hope you can turn it off. ND miata's don't have auto rev matching but they have a slight delay on the brakes to assist with hill starts. BTW how do you like the ranger? I used to want a Tacoma, but I don't like the ride. It kind of made me car sick.
@@andrewmaximo4485 Bought the GR Corolla in December. It has auto-revmatch but it's not on by default. You have to turn it on every single time you start the car so it definitely doesn't shove itself in your face. The only thing that's a little frustrating is that the pedal spacing sucks for heel-toe downshifts. The rev hang is definitely real though, unfortunately. But as Roman said that's an emissions thing - regulators love taking away our toys.
Earlier this year I walked into my local VW dealership and asked to test drive the only 2024 6MT Jetta they had on the lot. Even in the GLI trim, at that time, they only had DSG's. I had been looking at this particular Jetta online for a few months and it had been sitting for a while. The saleslady was quite good, but very new. She didn't know how to drive it. They had to call some 16 year old with a zoomer perm who worked in the garage to bring it out to the front for me to drive. He seemed thrilled to give me the keys. The car had 32km on it (Canada) and I took it on my test drive. I had brought a friend with me and once all the employees were out of sight, he hopped in and drove the car to the mall and proceeded to teach me how to drive stick shift. I stalled upwards of ten times before I was able to even pull it onto the road, and he had me drive it back to the dealership. I bought the car, picked it up three days later with my buddy. He drove it home for me and from there, I taught myself to drive manual on my new car. No regrets. I understand they have cancelled the manual Jetta for 2025 in all trims except GLI, which is a shame. I am happy I finally scratched 'learn stick shift' off of the bucket list and I'm very happy with my new car.
Best possible way to learn stick is in somebody else's car 😂 If that's not an option, buy a used beater for cheap, slap a 30-day temp tag on it, and then sell it when you're done. Some people, like me, always check the "manual transmission" box when looking at used cars, and that's all we're looking at.
VW manual transmissions are in my opinion, the best for the price. I think BMW has a better MT, but i wouldn't spend an extra 20k just because of that. Great choice on the VW!
When told how to do it, maybe watch another drive and explain what he is doing for one run through the gears. Then get in while you drive, let him talk you through the gears once or twice. That is all you need once you have done it, then practice makes perfect. The more you drive it, the smoother you start and the smoother you shift.
Old guy story...in 1982 when I was a 19-year-old college student, I got a job with the Kent State U's transit system. Learned to drive GM Old and New Look buses. The Old Looks didn't have power steering. My arms and back would ache after a 4hr shift driving those pigs!!! Automatic of course. Had a chance for a side gig driving the 50 miles to Cleveland to pick up the Western Michigan U's football gear at the airport. When I showed up at the depot, I was assigned a manual transmission box truck. Hadn't driven a manual before and I wasn't about to admit it now. I needed the $3.75/hour the drive paid. I learned on the way. Haven't owned an automatic since.
Is a great story of getting things done and learning because of necessity. Kids today would give up and start talking about their fucking feelings or being a victim lol
I learned on Saturday afternoon on my finances little Simca which had a four speed column shifter in an upside down pattern.(French). My second drive was on my own taking it from Chicago to Detroit. Good way to learn.
Okay, so maybe I'm a control freak. When I drive a manual transmission car, I feel like I am controlling the car. When I drive an automatic transmission car, I feel like the car is doing its own thing. Be in control or just go along for the ride.
I’ve owned and driven many manual cars. But honestly, I could care less. Modern transmissions are faster anyways. The only time I would prefer a manual is in a smaller engine. That way I can wring the power out of it. But with anything over 300Hp, I’m fine with an automatic. I have actually come to enjoy my paddle shifters lately. When I was younger I enjoyed the engagement of a manual transmission a little more. But now, modern automatics are just brilliant. Especially the Porsche automatics. Drive whatever makes you happy. 👍🏻
Here in Europe, we always had most cars with manual transmissions. Even 10 years ago if you asked 100 people what transmission they prefer, 90% would tell you that they prefer manual. Nowadays in my country (Czechia) it's about 50/50 and we're one of the few European countries where it's that high, most other western European countries it's more like 70% of people prefer and buy automatics. With emission standards being ridiculously strict for new cars and so many "smart" assistants, it's a matter of time before you can't buy a new car with manual at all, before they eventually replace cars with soul-less electric ipads on wheels. Sad times ahead for car enthusiasts.
Here in romania is the same. But with the roads we have i prefer a manual, because i have a lot more control over my car. I have driven an automatic once in my life, and i stomped on the break because i wanted to press the clutch :/
The most American reason to have an automatic: You can eat and drive at the same time. It's too much trouble to reach into that bag of McDonalds if you also have to mess with the stick shift. Just put it in Drive and go for those McNuggets!
It's probably less bad than you think, the automakers are finally discovering how to implement electric power steering properly and let some of road's feedback onto steering wheel. We might lose manual gearbox but steering an average car is likely gonna be more fun than just 10 years ago... well, except for extremely fast toaster on wheels also known as Tesla, no way in hell they're ever gonna learn.
@@BlackPill-pu4viI mean, I’m an American with a manual and I have no issues eating and driving; I just don’t eat while accelerating (which is smart anyways, keeps your eyes on the road).
Miata is always the answer. Most are still manuals. Yet not one mention of this car. They’re not only available as manuals, but are one of the best manuals on the market.
Unfortunately miatas take up such a small percentage of the car market compared to a gti/civic/impreza because they're just not that practical. Once the utilitarian-esque cars go (like hatchbacks, sedans) the death of the manual will increase substantially. I wouldn't replace my gti w a miata
They still make horse carts for the 0.01% billionaires, so sure. Keep working hard 'and someday' you'll be granted an afternoon to drive that exclusive luxury car. Or until the repo man tows it away.
Sold my automatic ford fusion and bought a manual ‘22 Miata brand new with my only knowledge being a motorcycle safety class and a handful of motorcycle rides years ago. It’s been a year and a half so far and going great :3
I'd just like to say I have a 2014 Mazda 3 manual with the 2.0 engine. I have 410,000 miles. The clutch is original and isn't slipping yet. I have not done any work on the engine. They're very well made. I've heard problems with other Mazda engines, but I know yours either has the 2.0 or 2.4, so you should be good with basic maintenance for a long time.
In Europe we still love manual transmission. I have a vw passat b8 I make 1000km per week. And I love my manual car. I do all the maintenance myself. No need of transmission oil change. I also do a lot of engine braking on off ramps so my brake pads and disc's can last much longer than in a automatic car.
My issue with automatics is that they are constantly shifting gears. If I wanna go a bit faster, I press down the gas pedal a bit and then I have to wait what feels like a year for it to downshift, even though I only wanted to go 5mph faster and it would have been easier for it to just apply the power in its current gear ratio. I don't need to drop a gear to accelerate by 5 mph. And then the same thing happens when starting from a stop. A manual has more pronounced gaps in power while I shift, but those gaps in power are entirely under my control and I don't ever accidentally lose power while the car just decides to downshift. I would consider buying a CVT if it was programmed to function like a CVT. But the issue with CVT's is that they don't take advantage of their continuous "gear ratio", because consumers aren't used to the different engine sound and will think their car is broken. So manufacturers have preset gear ratios programmed into the CVT to function like an automatic. So you get all of the downsides of the CVT without really any of the upsides.
@@whickervision742 I had no idea not all CVTs worked that way. I'll be honest, my only experience with a CVT is in my friend's Mitsubishi Lancer which he sold a year or 2 ago.
My Seat Exeo (Audi A4 B7 clone) was a diesel CVT auto. In Drive it just rode the torque with no fake gearing points and was great, no surging like a small petrol cvt, all still low down the rev range. In Sport mode it had 7 fake gearing points it would jump to and wasn't nearly as smooth but gave the illusion you were in control, especially with the flappy padals behind he steering wheel.
Great take! I 100% agree with everything you said. I've driven auto, dsg and of course manual and I prefer CVT over all the other auto boxes as there's no lag and hunting around shifts.
I had to drive something similar to this to haul water when I was a teenager. The truck was stuck in 4th gear, so it was forward-only in the highest gear. Fortunately it also had low range, it was a short drive, it had plenty of power, and I had a clear route to go forward-only. Needless to say I learned how to manipulate a clutch pretty well at a young age.
@@stongray4893 Nothing 99% people even do however... Let alone drive off pavement. I've realized I've pulled heavier things on worse roads in worse arctic conditions with my diesel yaris or Saab 900 using a tow hitch than most truck owners ever do.
Hopefully the 88 has a tougher transmission than my 95 had. It was good for light duty stuff, but was basically for a Ranger and the clutch took a massive beating if you went anywhere near the rated capacity (edit) of 3,500 pounds for that configuration.
I wanted a manual when I was 16, but my parents didn't understand why and forbid me from buying one because "you couldn't possibly learn to drive stick, it's your first car! why get a manual" even though I was the one paying for it. I'm 25 now and bought a stick with zero experience, I learned in 2 days. I feel like the only reason to buy a manual today is if you're an enthusiast, there's no cost savings and it makes driving more difficult, but I love every minute of it because it's something I dreamed of ever since I was a little kid (also 6:36 is the same shift knob and generation of civic I just bought)
Its only harder at first. Once you know the car you don’t even have to think about what you’re doing. Rev match downshifting is the best, good for the clutch, good for the soul!
1st. Congratulations on a great video. Been driving stick for 30 years; It should be mandatory nationwide to get the half assed drivers off the road or make them learn to drive: traffic congestion would improve as well as the environment.
20 y/o here! I taught my self how to drive stick on my 88 corolla wagon 5mt (miss that car so much) and when it died i picked up a ‘10 ford focus 5mt. I don’t know anyone my age who knows how to drive stick which makes it easy to not let my friends borrow my car! I also sleep better at night knowing it is stick (street parking in major city) I think the best part about manuals is just the feeling of driving. It’s so pure, even on an econoshitbox, the feeling of nailing three downshifts in a row or just banging gears on an on ramp…never gets old. I hope some of my friends want to learn sometime i really would love to teach someone. Thanks for this sick video you guys are the best🩶
I learned about 20yrs ago on my grandmas 80's subaru wagon and then got my own 89 rx7 and the got my 2018 Jeep Wrangler and am still the only person in the family or my small group of friends that can drive a manual. I love being able to just not have to worry about getting stuck in feet of snow we get every winter and not need special winter tires.
I learned on a stick shift 65 years ago. I detest automatics. People become complacent with automatics. Less chance of a manual transmission car being stolen. Thieves are dumb.
Driving a manual transmission efficiently requires a knowledge of the road and driving conditions and their relation to an internal combustion engine's operating characteristics. This is beyond the abilities or interests of many drivers and so many people just want something with a 'go' and a 'stop' pedal that will get them from point A to point B in an affordable and convenient way. Automatic transmissions are boring and take most of the fun out of driving.
Most of the young people I know who enjoy driving buy motorcycles instead of fun cars because while interesting cars have rapidly gotten more unattainable you can still have an unmatched visceral experience on a bike for basically nothing.
YEP! I wanted an E30 or E36 so bad in high school, about 10 years ago. Of course at least around here, that's when prices started to go bananas. $4000 for a rotten 325e. Trash! Saved my money, bought a BMW RnineT, never looked back. Takes up less space, less running cost, and can deliver an unmatched experience. Motorcycles really are the cheat code for driving fun these days.
Just realized this is true for myself too. Traded my old VW for a bike. Less maintenance, smaller, more fun, no real worries about rust and Id only drive my old car on nice days just like I ride my bike.
Excellent point! That was me twenty years ago. Always wanted a Ferrari. Like most, I couldn't afford one. So I bought a Ducati, the next closest thing. What an awesome machine. Still miss that bike. Also true that it is much easier to stay on top of maintenance. Everything is so much more accessible. Much less space needed to do the work and just fewer parts to maintain cosmetically.
A huge part of why cars aren't fun anymore is 'safety'; since motorcycles are inherently considered unsafe, they can still be made like they were 60 years ago, whereas cars can't be. Maybe one day, laws will change to allow a market of enthusiast cars to flourish.
Generally, older folks are the ones that can buy brand new cars. And older folks generally value convenience over everything. So that's why manuals aren't purchased as much in my opinion. If 18 year olds could buy new cars (which will never happen) it might be different. It's a moot point with the phase out of ICEs sadly
I'm old and my new Type S Integra will probably for sale in ten years. It will be bone stock and owned by an old guy, i.e. dealer service. Don't give up hope!
Always thought it was strange seeing cars in the 90s and 2000s marketed at "young people". I cant imagine a era when young people could comfortably afford a brand new car.
It's plenty possible for younger decent earning people to buy new cars if they want to prioritize it on their finances. I bought a 2019 Miata new the week before I turned 26. I chose to prioritize it. I see 20-somethings spending $40k on used trucks they don't do truck things with, you can buy new sports cars for less.
@@thatoneotherotherguy I guess sports cars have just failed to be appealing. They are typically impractical vehciles that can't fit the lifestyle of many who can only have one car. Most people may only need a ride to work and back. But many need space for other things. Also insurance on a sporty car and small cars is expensive. Bought a Honda Fit and it was crazy how expensive it was comapred to the larger cars I owned in the past. All because it was statistically more likely to be in a wreck due to its foot print.
Been daily driving a manual transmission in NJ/NYC for the last 17 years and make no plans on switching. In fact I have a deposit on a GR Corolla as i write this.
This is cool to hear. I live in the same area and I've been waiting to be able to afford a second car to finally buy a manual. Our area seems like hell for a manual daily.
really wish toyota dealers wouldn't have screwed up the hype of the GR corolla with all the mark ups etc. was gonna buy on but was completely turned off by the markup so I got a 6MT Tacoma. still happy but still can't believe it lol
@@steve4278 I never looked at the area as hell considering I’ve only ever had a manual transmission car, so I had no other choice. if I didn’t feel like shifting my own gears, I wasn’t leaving the driveway. Funny I actually enjoy driving a stick shift in traffic, it’s like having cruise control, hardly ever apply the brake pedal
Theirs nothing like driving a slowcar fast, in a manual transmission, and making good use of deceleration by downshifting through corner's and really knowing when you're in the right gear for where you're at in the powerband of engine. I grew up watching my dad drive manual... First car was handed down as a manual and so i picked up on it rather quickly and prefer it. So many stupid little nit picking reasons to make a vehicle more expensive to own in the long run while making it cheaper for the manufacturer... personally everything mentioned including the metrics are just justification points for certain manufacturers to jump on the bandwagon of making it harder for right to repair. I say that because with a manual, the average joe could disassemble and reassemble one..automatic transmissions are down right scary if you've ever seen them disassembled and so with an abundance of automatics, the tendency is to yank out the old, and swap in an uncracked replacement.
It is funny how "here" in "Europe" automatic transmission is still think about more luxury option, than manual, which most of our cars have regardless of specs
Not anymore though. Due to emission norms more and more brands go into automatics (which can have a base/eco option that will give lower emission in tests) as default options. Especially with hybrid drivetrains. But yeah, incredibly funny that USA is the opposite world, where manual is a paid luxury extra.. while for decades automatic was the luxury option in Europe.
@@veevoir I mean yes, I never cars its fact that is less and less available (but not as much as in USA conterpart), but overall amount of manual cars is still prolly majority on the roads
The northern-er you go, the more manuals you get. Here in euroland, manual cars from 2000-2010 command a steep premium over their automatic counterparts, to the point where there are specialized dealers who will swap the transmission for you. Or more likely, swap a newer engine and control unit over to an older model car. It is hard to pull your neighbor out of the snow with an auto. And they are not fun to take on ice tracks on lakes, so it just is what it is. I know it will reach us eventually, but what a bleak existence that will be.
Got a bad flat tire on my Integra Type S last week. When the wrecker driver got in and looked at the pedals, I said, "You'll need the clutch" and his face went blank. I drove it on the sled for him.
Yikes. That's like hiring an electrician who doesn't know what a fuse box is. "Umm, why do you have 2 brake pedals? You got like, super brakes or something?" "Please step out of my car, sir."
I prefer, and own, manual transmission vehicles and motorcycles. When it comes to automatic transmissions, I prefer the older mechanical controlled ones versus the electronic.
I can tell you the main reason. Women do not like to drive manuals. And that affects how men buy cars. If I buy a Corvette with a manual and want to travel in it my wife will never drive it. So I have to purchase the automatic. Back in the 60's. 70's and even the 80's most many kids learned how to drive manuals because that's what most cheaper cars were. America is the one who pushed the auto as the standard because most other markets the auto was an upgrade. US made it the standard and even the muscle cars we all praise and go on about were 90% automatics. When it comes to 4 cylinder engines I absolutely prefer manual. It's much more fun to extract out every bit of power rather than the feeling of a weak engine trying mash its way thru an automatic gears.
There is truth to this. When I was a teen back in the early 90's, most small, base model, economy cars were manuals. And it does seem that many women did not like to drive them or just never learned.
I'm the strange one in my friend group for knowing how to drive a stick and like doing so. I have found that many people, even more so younger people, don't care about driving. A car for most is just a tool to get to A to B. And they buy for convenience and affordability, not for style or fun. It's kind of sad.
I'm on of the few people in my friend group who drives at all! Here in Ireland getting a license has become financially restrictive so more young people simply don't bother. public transport is cheaper.
After being "bullied" by the enthusiast community for so long, I can totally understand why. I remember asking my classmate why he loved cars but hated being associated with enthusiasts, and I never understood his answer until far later when I began associating with car guys. If you don't have a cleanly modded car, you're doing it wrong. Spoilers on a Mustang? Wrong. Pinstripes on a Civic? Wrong you Ricer. Camber and rims? Absolutely wrong. I feel after the insanely expressive days of Fast n Furious, everything about cars has become bland and I blame everyone for it. Manufacturers, Dealers and Enthusiasts alike. Now I just wanna get from point A to B without triggering someone for liking the wrong thing...
I can understand the 'tool' standpoint. Where I live, there's more and more traffic, more and more multi-lane roads with numerous stoplights. Not conducive to enjoyement.
Fun fact, in the Uk f you learn in an automatic you can only buy and/or drive an automatic, as its on your license. Which means that most everyone learns in a manual car. Now, i live in America now, but i learned to drive in the uk n a manual car, but swappd to an auto over here. I went back to Scotland last year and rented a car with a manual transmission. My only difficulty was the swap from a hand break to the stupid auto/ button break…..i found it hellua confusing on a hill start. Couldnt find the bite as i let off the had break…it annoyed the piss out of me.
interestingly, auto only license holders often pay a lot more in insurance, probably because drivers who never learned to drive a manual don't have the same level of anticipation/forward planning as those in autos. The average auto driver goes the speed limit up to a roundabout, brakes, and only then looks for a gap. Manual drivers on the other hand plan well in advance of the give way line. There's also an adverse selection bias here, where people already predisposed to higher risk (physical disabilities, mental health, anxiety, etc) are far less likely to be capable of using a manual, so automatics only is the only license they can really get, thus you get a class of drivers (auto only license holders) who are a generally higher risk category. The advice is, even if you end up driving autos all your life, learn and pass your test with a manual.
When you go and test for a CDL , that applies too. Take the test in an automatic that is what your restriction will be, Class A or Class B. Most folks take the test on a 10 speed manual.
@@rocnnrollbusI have a friend with the auto only restriction. Drives a manual car and only wants a manual car, yet won’t touch a manual truck for anything. Lol
Oh hey, it's @ManleyReviews ! Fancy meeting you here. I'm subscribed and love your channel. I should have known you were cool enough to drive manual. Now knowing that you're a cool car guy and a cool gamer, I'd love to see you do a video on manual transmissions in video games, or a deep dive on some of the older racing gems like the Gran Turismos and NFSs on PS1.
My dad used to say shifting is half the fun of driving. Today, it seems like a lot of young people see driving as a chore. Some even out off learning to drive for as long as possible, where my generation saw learning to drive as exciting and freeing.
I'm apart of mid gen z. In today's reality I feel like Detective Del Spooner from I Robot. Every single person around me has been numbed by the "oh so perfect and reliable", "cars of the future." My first car was a 1976 Oldsmobile cutlass, nothing special, it was a grocery getter. But it became the most important car around me after I bought a 2009 Jeep Patriot 5 speed manual. I started to like this jeep right up until my throttle failed, first it was the throttle body, ok, easy enough fix. I replaced that, and it worked fine for about 2 weeks. Then the car started to go into limp mode every now and then and leave me absolutely stranded. Turns out that nowadays your throttle, IS NOT EVEN CONTROLLED BY A CABLE, it is purely "Bluetooth" if you will. I was so frustrated to discover how many things have gone electronic. I investigated this and found the phrase, "More moving parts means more chance for wear and failure". I thought yea that's a reasonable enough statement, but I've gone to the dealerships, I've gone to the auto shops, I've talked to everybody in the neighborhood and I have only heard one thing, summed up, it's this "Cars before were better because you can see mechanical failure, it's easy to replace, you can't see electrical failure unless it's really bad. Cars back then were so easy to fix that many times you could order the shops service manual for you to use at home. They almost encouraged your own service on your vehicle." My point about feeling like Spooner is that I don't know anybody else who has surrendered the right to new vehicles, I only drive and maintain vehicles that date before the 21st century. My "newest" vehicle is a 93 Crown Victoria. It feels like I'm doing something wrong, yet my compass says I'm doing it right. Everyone talks about "oh how awesome these brand new cars are", and "Oh man these electric cars rule" when what I see, is a bunch of cheap garbage that still costs a fortune.
I wouldn't drive anything as old as you are I live in Seattle WA USA. Traffic very rambunctious. Really need fancy stuff abs which got me out of accidents and TCS that got me through the show which might not have been doable otherwise. Any car that doesn't have these features is something you have to pass on. Older cars easier to keep running as fix all right. But they fall down under certain traffic conditions. Which makes them too far out of date to date drive.
@@larrycjost9388 Yes! which is a great point when arguing the fact that in truth, new vehicles are a lot better than older ones, I struggle to get that point across sometimes. But everyone is different, I like my older vehicles because I live in the Midwest in a town with only two traffic signals, so you can see how little I need the new fancy stuff. On the other hand in cases like yours, that new fancy stuff is highly useful and sometimes will save your life. I’m a fixer, not a driver though, so when it comes time to choose a project, older cars are easier in my preference.
"Everyone talks about "oh how awesome these brand new cars are", and "Oh man these electric cars rule" when what I see, is a bunch of cheap garbage that still costs a fortune." Your vision is 20/20!
Maybe the auto industry is overdoing it on fancy electronics and computer. I look at the stories I have seen heard about all this fancy stuff. And here I am driving a 2011 Toyota Prius with abs that really we worked more than once getting me out of accidents. And TCS that really worked got me up and down a snow hill without chains. Electronics nowhere near like recent rent a cars. So maybe we had a better compromise between features vs fancyness 10 q15 20 years ago . But do realize there has to be fancy electronics and computer to some degree to get pollution controls and TCS and hybrid my methods. And we cannot build all mechanical cars anymore.
Manuals are out and huge ass SUVs and Trucks are in! This is why I'm a train, bike, and motorcycle girl now. But for real though, I must admit something: I haven't been able to own a manual. The car I own is an automatic because I was in a bind and I didn't want to have my daily driver that's gonna be in traffic all the time be a manual. I ride motorcycles so I know how to shift but just didn't know if I had what it takes with clutching with my feet instead of left hand. Sort of a choice I regret but even if I wanted a manual, the only one I could get would be 10k more and would be a special order. The choices are getting very slim just in general for consumers in the new car market and it is kinda scary. Vehicles are state of change and I'm not sure if I really care for the future of automobiles at this point. There's gotta be a silver lining here somewhere, or at least I hope.
Traffic depends on the car. If you have a light clutch like most Hondas, easy as pie. My 6MT Miata has such a low first gear, it idles at 2 mph, which is actually really good for traffic.
Well, if it's any consolation, driving a manual car isn't that much harder than an automatic, or in your case, a manual bike. Just a different muscle memory that also isn't that hard to get. Along with what the other guy said. That stated, I'd go with used, since Rev hang is a real problem I've seen.
I drive my MR2 deep in Austin every day and I’d say the enjoyment I get out of it outweighs the annoyance of dancing the clutch in traffic. Everything I own is manual now and I can’t see myself getting anything else
It's so sad that people are scared off by a stick when they're a youtube video away from being competent enough to drive home... Thank you for the video. :)
Ive watched all the videos but nobody has a car to let me practice in. I called driving schools, all autos, I even considered renting a car but you have to wait for a manual! If someone just let me press a clutch I would get it but it's definitely daunting to buy a car you aren't sure you can drive home!
@@teagancombest6049 Driving a stick is no more complicated than walking and chewing gum at the same time. A half hour in a parking lot is the most you need to master the basics. The first 2 or 3 times you accelerate from a stop you'll stall it, but after that you quickly learn how to release the clutch.
Yup, exactly how I learned. My dad initially taught me since I figured he grew up with stick. He did all he can to explain but all I got was "you just have to get a feel for the clutch" which is true. RU-vid helped me refine it.
I like the part about the overloading of electronics in modern cars. I don't to mess with a bunch of digital interfaces. I just want to start the car, get it in gear, and throw some gravel pulling out of the driveway. Oh yeah, and I want to hear some noise during the drive and feel the bumps too. I am DRIVING A CAR, not relaxing on an overstuffed sofa.
Seeing my Element pop up in this video made me smile. Before the mods and the adventures. Before the hundreds if not thousands of memories and photos. I've put 68,000 miles, 48 states and 5 Canadian provinces since that video was filmed. Thanks for taking me back in time to when I had no idea where I was going with this car in terms of mods and adventures. I sincerely thank you.
@@RichardCarter-yq2mw Yes. And they are rare AF. I've only seen one in person and iirc it was FWD. Truth be told, the automatic is better. Better acceleration and better mpg. Also better off road. If I had to do it all over again, I'd get a 2011 EX 4wd.
I've never owned an Element but always liked them. I'd love to have a 4WD manual, earlier gen with the black plastic body panels... in that nice dark orange.
Here in Europe, automatics were not preferred in the past because the were heavy and inefficient. This counts a lot more for the smaller engines and higher fuel prices we normally had, compared to North America. Now the automatic is more refined and efficient, it makes more sense to have them here too. Especially looking at the environmental concerns like you mentioned. I have always driven (used) manual cars but now, at 52, I would probably not be surprised if one of my next cars would be automatic. Great video, Roman ❤
I've driven 2 automatics in my live. One was a mid 90's honda with a dreadful 3 speed sloshbox that had a mind of its own. It was clunky, it never shifted when you expect it, reversing out of parking spaces was a pain because the column shifter was finicky, and the car was thirsty despite having a small engine. I hated that transmission with a fiery passion. It completely ruined an otherwise decent car. The other was an around 2018 model. I can't remember the brand, but it had 6 gears with silky smooth, fairly predictable shifts. That car was pretty fuel efficient too despite its size. The industry really has eroded most of the advantages manual transmissions used to have, beyond just being more fun to drive. And that fun only applies on fairly open roads. I knew an Oslo boy who was a stereotypical BMW driver. He was a big fan of manuals, but he dailied an automatic entirely because that auto box was a godsend in slow moving, stop and go traffic, which his commute apparently tended to devolve into.
Manual is fun when you have a fun car, and can hit a fun road, most people spent most time stuck in traffic, and that is a miserable place to be in a manual car, but I'll always love them more than automatics
That Europe map is cursed: -Bosnia ate half of Serbia -Serbia ate half of Croatia -Slovenia ate part of Croatia -Luxemburg is double its size -Moldavia got anorexia -Kosovo is a pancake -Lichtenstein is apparently moved between Austria and Czech Republic -There is state inside North Ireland (I guess a Republic of Sober Irishman) -RIP Andorra -RIP Kaliningrad -RIP Montenegro
I have driven cars with manual transmission a total of about 400,000 miles. My current vehicle is a 2005 Pontiac Vibe with 5-speed. I bought the car new and it now has 200,000 miles on it.
The firsr time i got behind the wheel of a manual, it was when i was working for a car-rental company. My boss asked me to move some cars to another part of the lot and so i went to do it. I jumped behind the wheel, and lo and behold, it was a manual transmission! (97 Dodge Stratus, IIRC). While i understood the concept of how to drive a manual, i never had actually done it (all my family's cars were automatics) so let's just say that there was a VERY steep learning curve! 😂 I did manage to move that car, and later, as one of the few employees who was comfortable driving a stick, was asked to move other manual transmission cars to other branches, sometimes a long way away. Manual transmissions are fun to drive in normal circumstances, but absolutely suck in bumper-to-bumper traffic.
Nothing like the level of mechanical engagement in driving a car with a manual transmission. You’re driving the car instead of the car driving you. Guess it’s the difference between those who enjoy the car as a machine and those to whom it’s just an appliance.
@@stevebuscemi3622 In 20 years we won't have any option. It will be illegal to sell a combustion engined car and electric cars don't have transmissions in the same way so manuals won't exist.
RU-vid is what taught me to know the concept of manual transmission. A few months later I ask my friend who knows how to drive manual, and a day later I was driving manual for the first time on the road. Now I teach some of my friends how to drive manual. Story of my manual life (started age 18 now 19)
We have a Jeep (auto) and a 5spd manual Toyota which is impactical in heavy traffic in NYC and DC. I work in both places. I think I know what I am talking about based on 25 years of experience driving in both.places.
At 70 years old I've driven manuals all my life. Had a hard time finding one in 2018 when I bought my last new car, a Versa S. I like the reliability and longevity as well as gas mileage.
Roman, you are the best automotive documentarian on the internet. The best to come out of PA bar none. Its really impressive how deep your writing and perspective interweave with your solid research. Please never stop.
I bought a Chevy Sonic in 2012 with the 1.4 turbo. My dealer spent maybe 3 hours teaching me how to drive before I left the lot and drove back an hour to go home
In europe to this very day vast majority of drivers know and ARE learning to drive manual when they practice for the exam. SItuation in US is to blame on not requiring manual transmissions in exams for licenses, manufacturers and EPA lying about fuel efficiency to make automatics more attractive when manuals still to this very day can outdo automatics and CVTs when driven well in terms of economy and definetly reliability. On top of fools online fearmongering people out of going for manuals citing made up issues especially when "traffic" is a "factor". Its just so many blockades in the way put by foolish decisions or advice and law. It would require someone actively and decisively go against all that, then be well off and THEN be in market to buy a new car. This is just ridiculously gatekeeping and results in nigh-non existant take of manuals in US market.
The decline of manual transmission vehicles is due, in part anyways, to the same reason that 90% of new vehicles are offered in white, gray, black, and silver. Because it's a safe option. It's safe for the dealerships. It's easier to sell an automatic transmission vehicle just like it's easier to sell a gray vehicle over a red one because a customer really has to WANT a manual or a red car, but just about anyone will settle for an automatic or a gray car. It's all about sales. Unfortunately, manual transmission vehicles have become no more than a niche. It's been this way for awhile, so much so that I know very few people under about 40 that can even drive a manual. I just bought a new truck and wanted a blue or green one with a manual, ended up with a white with an auto, so there you go. In midsize trucks for the most part they don't even offer a manual except on the most stripped down models, if they offer it at all. If you want a V6, 4x4, and any options you are out if luck. Mine only came in a manual in the 4-cylinder 2WD version. And forget about getting anything that isn't white, gray, silver, ir black. Other colors exist but they never have them and can't hardly get them.
"Driving is terrible and no one should do it." This was what I thought of driving before I had a fun-to-drive manual. Now I frequently go on hours-long joyrides through twisty mountain roads.
@@ExeliusI think that’s because in majority manual areas someone won’t be good at driving manual so the only option for them to enjoy driving is an automatic. In the US basically anyone can drive an easy driving automatic car but the enthusiasts know that there’s a more immersive experience in driving a manual
Another small factor that bugs me is the allocation system for a lot of new cars. You can't actually order a manual. Your dealer can make an "allocation request" but at the end of the day they get what they get. The amount of people in the 86 groups that got an auto because they didn't want to wait 6 months to a year to get a manual is crazy. Another example is the Elantra N which supposedly caps manual production at 20%.
the 86 is a very good example of this because, while toyota operates this way, subaru does *not* operate this way. subaru lets you spec and order a car. because of this, the manual take rate with the 86 is ~50% while the take rate with the brz is ~70% iirc. essentially identical cars but one of them is more likely to have three pedals because the manufacturer is selling to customers rather than dealerships.
Just traded in my old manual Corolla got one of the last manual K20 Civics ever made in the US yesterday. I feel so lucky! You wanna blame someone? Blame the parents who didn't teach their kids to drive manuals, or blame the people who collect them instead of driving them. It's not the kids fault when nobody taught them. Hell nobody at the dealership even knew how to drive my new car.
not true in the slightest. It's cause automatics are faster and more fuel efficient now. Stick shift is purely for car enthusiasts that actually care about driving involvement. A niche within a niche. Most "car guys" only care about highway pulls or just standing around a meets which an auto is better at. You will never shift faster than a DSG, PDK, or even a current gen Rav4.
I mean, it's also because manual transmissions are objectively worse and people buy cars not because they enjoy driving it, so things that make driving any more of a pain in the ass than it already is is naturally going to be phased out.
@@s_t_r_a_y_e_d uhuh. But something faster and more fuel efficient by tiny percentages isn't necessarily what everyone wants. Especially if you word it in a way that doesn't make you sound like you just sounded lol
@@Clangokkuner objectively worse... Than broken CVT belts in Subarus? Or ground up dual clutches in Hyundais, Fords and VWs? I'm missing something and whatever your weird take's gonna be, I'm not interested.
@@CatalystOfFiremanual transmissions aren’t convenient for the mass majority of people. People have crappy commutes filled with traffic and crazy drivers to and from work and school everyday, and work annoying stressful jobs, and have families that require a vehicle filled with safety features. They don’t have time to deal with shifting a stick that 95 percent of the time is never gonna touch a gear higher than third. You also can’t eat and drink while shifting. It’s seen as an annoyance and people don’t need an additional annoyance added to everything that they already deal with. And now with EVs on the horizon, they make manuals functionally and fundamentally obsolete. That’s why manuals are going away.
Help. Question for anyone. I have a 2000 Nissan Sentra with a 5 speed transmission. Sometimes I can not get it into reverse unless I turn off the motor. Why? Thank you.
I often feel that an understated advantage to driving a manual is it's ability to engage the driver to prevent distracted driving. This is obviously somewhat negated on highway drives / when you get to speed and aren't heading towards a red light, but in a case of city drivers being constantly distracted and having fender benders, pedestrian accidents, stop-and-go traffic love taps that cause 40 min traffic delays, and other stupid results from driving with a cell phone in one's hand, I feel as if the manual transmission could prevent some of those from even occurring. A manual coupled with new crash avoidance technology could result in far less city, and possibly certain potentially fatal accidents. And also fuck gigantic front-ends on SUVs and trucks that are pedestrian crushers and just make more wagons man
> stop-and-go traffic This has evoked a conditioned response in me. I'm mad now.I sincerely think that having to deal with a clutch would solve particular modern traffic issues. Why the hell do you want to jump forward all the time? It's too much work! Every time I'm in slow traffic, I make like all the big trucks do, pick a gear and just let it idle along. Then suddenly fifteen dipshits slide into the gap and everyone has to slam the brakes on again...
@thigbreezy, yeah the dimensions of modern SUVs, and more specifically Pickups, stupid. I justify owning my Ram 1500 as a daily because I tow my fishing boat sometimes as often as 4 times a year lol. I'm not buying the idea that manuals would decrease distracted driving significantly. If there is a possibility for people to be dumbasses, myself included, we will always find a way. One of my fondest memories growing up is of traveling anywhere with my uncle 15-20 years ago. He had a bench seat Jeep Comanche with the 5MT and chain smoked, drank coffee from an open top mug, all while 99% of the time arguing with whatever poor woman who had the misfortune of being in a relationship with him at the time over the phone he had pinned between his cheek and shoulder. I had a merchandising job as a weekend gig 10 years back which required me to drive my 99 S-10 5MT to and from 5 or 6 grocery stores per shift. On Sunday mornings, I would eat gas station biscuits and gravy (it's a thing) from the plastic serving tray with a fork while driving..... I was never as big a scumbag as my uncle though, I always used Bluetooth while handling my domestic arguments over the phone. Fun fact: if you bought a used Comanche in the early 2000s, the first term GW Bush administration would actually send you a carton of Kools and an expired Subway sub club punch card. The idea was to make sure you had a story to tell all the other divorced dads hanging out at Autozone how bad Subway customer service was.
I live in the SF Bay Area. Dealers here want a $20-50k markup for a manual transmission GR Supra. Meanwhile they are discounting the automatics. It’s dire here.
The VW 7 speed DSG fails at around 40k, the oil pump fails inside the box, and they cannot be rebuilt and they are ‘sealed’ units. I own a 2024 SEAT Ateca crossover, with the more reliable 6 speed manual, the problem is, drivers are getting more and more stupid, and are incapable of operating 3 pedals, and in America, the vast majority struggle with 2 pedals!!!.
Miles long traffic jams are (IMHO) mainly what killed manual transmissions. As the population increases, and the roads are choked with more and more traffic, there's no chance that manual transmissions will ever return.
The only Auto I have is R53 aisin 6 speed and I have another 2 of the German stick 😂 but honestly I love the stick even for the long journeys --- gonna keep. ‘Em forever however--
Driving a 2023 6MT Camaro. Paid less then MSRP because it was a manual. The person ordered a car basically the same exact build I wanted, then backed out because delivery was taking forever and he bought a Hell Cat instead. The dealer phoned me because I was already talking to them about my build I was thinking about, and cut me a deal because they were worried a manual would be a hard sell. Basically I got my 1LE package for free because my original build didn't have it, and I didn't want to pay more money.
Just brought home a 2024 Jetta. The #1 reason I bought my first new car, and my first VW. MANUAL. Teaching my 16 year old how to drive stick on a 2011 Patriot. MANUAL.
I think also it's a contributing factory that most drivers in the U.S. are utility drivers; meaning that unlike car enthusiasts who love driving cars for its own sake, most drive them to get from point A to B. They view cars, and I include myself in this camp, as much of a necessary appliance as a fridge or AC unit. To those drivers, manuals were still compelling back in the 70s, 80s, and somewhat 90s because they were more fuel efficient, that is a utility that those drivers could see. However, as automatics got more efficient and hybrids came online that were more so, the advantage if it is still there isn't huge enough to be compelling to that utility driver. Also agree that it is a price thing as well. Most utility drivers do want cheap cars, but the manuals at used lots (at least in my area) are either more expensive than the cheap automatic options or the manual that is there is some dodgy model that they don't want to touch; like an older mid 2000s Kia or very high mileage Fords (and no, it doesn't matter how much folks in comments complain about "lAzY pEoPle", most regular folk do not want to fuck around with their cars like they are amateur mechanics). Even using FB Marketplace or Craigslist, the used auto here is a grand or more cheaper than the manual. Then yeah as you get to newer models the price gap gets bigger and again, for utility drivers who don't care about the driving experience, the higher price tag is not worth it.
Yeah, I think decades of technological development and changing regulatory and market pressures have led to something of a role reversal for manual vs automatic. Where the automatic was once an expensive and worse-performing option aimed at the niche of people who really wanted driving to be a less involved process, the manual is now an expensive and generally worse-performing option tailored to the niche of people who want to be more involved in the process of driving. To use another millennial trope, learning to drive manual comes across sort of like learning to write in cursive - why bother developing the skills necessary to operate an inkwell pen when ballpoints exist? Now, I think learning manual holds up way better than cursive does because it's good to understand what and why your engine and transmission are doing what they do, manual or automatic, and automatics aren't (yet) able to make more advanced decisions a manual driver can like pre-emptively reacting to road conditions ahead But then again, there are enthusiast automatics like a paddle-shifting DCT that can give you the practical benefits of both types, and so it comes back to the subjective nature of driving feel I guess the one area where manuals still have a clear practical edge over automatics is in maintenance, but with the difference in up-front price now favoring autos that pressure in favor of manual is also somewhat dulled...
It also has to be said that in a housing market that is out of reach to the vast majority of new buyers now, people are stuck renting apartments. Most of which do not allow maintenance. I couldn't even change my oil if I wanted to because I would be in violation of my lease agreement if I jacked my car up and changed the oil. Let alone any more involved maintenance that might require a day or two of work.
@@mikeydude750 Same situation. I can't be doing anything that required jacking the car up and even if I technically could I don't have the room to store all those tools in my apartment with all the other roomates stuff.
No,no, no, you missed the most important reason. Any 70-80 year old could tell you. Manuals were always faster than automatics. That is why men bought them. It wasn’t until the automatics matched or exceeded the acceleration of the manual. That is what killed the manual.
Manual transmission is needed for off roads and mountain road driving. Central and South America countries only sell manual transmission cars and trucks. Automatic transmissions and CVTs are destroyed easily on mountain and off roads. Pedal bikes have manual derailer shifters too. First and second bicycle gears sre a must to pedal uphill or you break the chain or hurt your legs. Thanks.
For many people, car is just transport tool. I drive manuals and only manuals for my whole life, until this year when I got my first EV. And yes, I sometimes miss shifting gears just for fun, heal and toe rev matching on the traffic light and going to the redline just to keep up with traffic (my last car was FIAT Grande Punto 1.2). Now, I would buy an automatic over manual every time, because without shifting gears, each drive becomes so much more relaxing.
Lots of people never learned to drive manuals as kids so they bought automatics. And driving in hilly cities pushed automatics. SF in a stick? Not if I can avoid it.
I’m 57, and drive a manual every day. As a teacher, my students are awestruck seeing a car with a stick shift. When I was in college, I sold my car to pay tuition. I had to pick up the buyer at the Greyhound station, and teach her how to drive a manual before her 500 mile trip home.
Wait until you show your students a 3-on-the-tree stick shift! No shift intuitive shift pattern on the knob. It will raise you to god status as you row that unmarked shifter.
When i was 27, i went and got the cheapest manual that wasnt falling apart, and figured out manual on the drive home. And i loved every second of it. Surely i wont be the only one, but its a rare thing for sure.
Every time someone says something to the effect of “enthusiasts don’t buy new cars” I feel the need to remind them of the fact that new cars are more expensive than used cars. And used cars are really, really expensive for the average Joe. Like, if your household income is less than 100k you should not be even thinking of buying any brand new car.
I'm an European, but it's not like this video is irrelevant to us. The US car market is one of the biggest if not the biggest, and if you folks don't buy something, car makers often don't bother developing it. That's why we lost Ford Focus and Fiesta for instance, there's no point in developing these cars when US buyers would rather buy a big-arse SUV and bring the company a lot of money in the process. Same thing with manual trannies, also a lot of modern Europeans would rather drive an auto, since now those are more economical and why choose a harder to drive stick instead if there are no benefits in it. I'm trying to sell my Ford Focus ST and I've already heard "ah, sorry mate, I would buy it if it was automatic" several times. But having manuals still around kinda amazes me, it's just a less convenient way to drive a car and some stubborn folks like me still buy 'em, it's a wonder they haven't been phased out completely by vastly superior automatics yet.
"That's why we lost Ford Focus and Fiesta for instance, there's no point in developing these cars when US buyers would rather buy a big-arse SUV and bring the company a lot of money in the process." It's not necessarily that drivers would rather buy them, but that this is what the dealers want to sell. Our EPA sets ridiculously high MPG requirements for cars, but light trucks (which includes SUVs) have much lower standards. That makes SUVs and trucks more profitable, so they make a ton of them, driving down the prices. Ford doesn't even sell a car anymore other than the Mustang... that's just nuts! This is also the same reason compact pickup trucks have left the American market. Larger trucks have lower fuel efficiency standards. We have all these big, gas guzzling SUVs and full size pickups on the road because of fuel economy mandates that were meant to increase the average fuel economy, not decrease it. It's the same reason we're getting cars that specify thin motor oils and smaller engines with turbos and wet belts... they're sacrificing longevity for incremental increases in MPG on the EPA mileage test in order to meet government standards. That test is what cars are engineered for. It's why automatic vehicles annoyingly start in second and have to downshift to first if you give it more than a tiny bit of throttle, and why some manuals have skip-shift solenoids to prevent shifting from first to second. It's all about that EPA test (since production cars have to be the same as the ones used in th test). If there is dysfunction in any given domain like this, it's nearly always government causing it.
I'm older and always loved manual. I looked awhile for a Saturn Vue with a 4 cylinder, five speed no newer than an 04 and found one with 230,000 miles in really good condition. I really like it.
That was my first car! And I miss it. Wish I had kept it, especially when I found there was a supercharger kit to make it less of a dog. 228,000 miles when I traded it, and it was still getting every bit of 28MPG on the highway.
In the US, used manuals typically sell for a premium over autos if the model was offered with both. I have tried to buy new cars with manuals a couple of times in the past and it was usually the dealers who refused to order them that way. I remember looking for a VW Golf as a commuter car about 15 years ago. The closest dealer to me grumbled something like “oh, you’re one of those guys.” I asked him to explain and he said that he had 6-8 people a week coming in looking for sticks but they never sold so he didn’t order any that way. I called around and found a couple in stock at a dealer 30 miles away and I bought one the same day. His logic still dumbfounds me. My son is on his learners permit and I just took him out to teach him to drive my manual 1999 Boxster. He wants a manual for his first car… it won’t be a Porsche but I hope we can find a good example when we are ready to buy.
I drove nothing but manuals for 40+ years (over 10-11 different vehicles) but purchased my first automatic in 2022 (Mazda CX-30). Sadly, nothing practical + appealing (to me) offers a manual today in the USA.
A lot of the really basic hatchbacks that people drive here (in most European countries) with 1L (or slightly bigger) engines also have manual transmissions. Most fleet vans are bought as the lowest spec possible which tends to be the manual transmission too.
Meanwhile in North America the Ford Transit, Ram ProMaster (Our version of the Fiat Ducato) and Mercedes Sprinter are all automatic only (And the ProMaster and Transit eventually dropped the diesel option, leaving us with only gasoline V6 engines for both). In general with model lines that are staples in both the EU and NA markets we tend to miss out on the lowest spec models.
