{"id":44209,"date":"2023-03-04T09:04:22","date_gmt":"2023-03-04T14:04:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=44209"},"modified":"2023-03-04T09:04:22","modified_gmt":"2023-03-04T14:04:22","slug":"manual-transmission-young-people-interest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=44209","title":{"rendered":"Some younger drivers relish the idea of stick shifting"},"content":{"rendered":"

Part way into the 21st<\/sup> Century<\/a>, obsolescence isn\u2019t what it used to be, especially in the minds of younger consumers; consider the renaissance of vinyl records and film cameras. To that list, add the automobile\u2019s stick shift<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Manual transmissions are no longer just about lower car purchase prices, better fuel economy<\/a> or more control on the road. They\u2019re about being hip. At least, that\u2019s part of the thesis offered in a recent article in The Wall Street Journal<\/em>.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe 20-Somethings Fueling a Stick-Shift Renaissance\u201d \u00a0examines a modest but real resurgence in the sales upticks of manual-equipped cars,<\/a> and focuses on the enthusiasm of younger people to acquire them, and the challenges\u2014no longer so challenging\u2014of learning bow to drive them.<\/p>\n

But, as readers of Autoblog<\/em> have learned in recent years,, the future of manuals, as author Rachel Wolfe succinctly points out in the Journal piece, is essentially doomed in the longer term. Blame the electric vehicle.<\/a><\/p>\n

She writes that car makers sold 43 different manual models in 2022, according to J.D. Power, compared with 69 in 2019. \u201cWhile a few EVs do have more than one gear,\u201d she says, \u201cauto makers are still figuring out how to translate the experience of maneuvering a manual to their electric car<\/a> lineups. \u2018\u2019<\/p>\n

Did we mention \u201cdoomed\u201d?<\/p>\n

But Ms. Wolfe does offer some positivity.<\/p>\n

\u201cMINI<\/a> just opened a manual driving school<\/a>\u00a0of its own at the BMW<\/a> Performance Center in Thermal, Calif.,\u201d she writes. \u201cA January company survey of just over 1,000 drivers found that two-thirds of 18-to-34-year-olds are eager to learn how to drive a manual, versus 40% of older respondents who don\u2019t already drive stick.\u201d<\/p>\n

The author quotes a couple of drivers who became enamored of manuals, including a teenager from Ohio who took his driving test with a manual. \u201cI thought it was cool to learn how to drive on a stick, just because I could tell my friends that I was a better driver than them,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

She also visits the other side of the issue, talking to a 24-year-old, who said that she found the stick \u201ccool,\u201d but only until \u201cher leg grew sore from the clutch as she navigated traffic commuting back and forth from law school every day in Tampa, Fla. \u00a0\u2018I think they are very fun to drive for about two hours, and then you\u2019re like, OK, I would like to put it away and just drive like a normal person again.\u2019\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

The full article is available online here<\/a>. Note that a paid subscription may be required to access some stories in The Wall Street Journal.<\/p>\n

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