A bit of a catch -22. If you can’t get them, how can you buy them?
Three cars ago I finally gave up on a manual because I couldn’t find one anywhere. There were only a few specific model where it was a choice and I wasn’t interested in them. Turns out to be a good choice, as Boston traffic was much easier to deal with in an automatic.
Two cars ago I got a CVT and it is an amazing piece of technology! Worked out really well.
But now I have an EV, no transmission.
I gave up on teaching my teens to drive a manual because that technology is almost gone. And with EVs being the future, there’s no longer a reason for it to exist
A little over twenty years ago I switched. I think it used to be there were many upsides to manual, including better mileage. I think that has since flipped, or at least been largely mooted.
I still preferred manual for driving in snow, but I think even there if you have an automatic that shifts up/down, the advantages are mostly just a placebo, I think.
No one was buying manuals, and even those weak sales were declining. Modern automatic have more gears and shift more efficiently.
They also break more easily, which is a big boon to selling more expensive cars that break even easier.
A bit of a catch -22. If you can’t get them, how can you buy them?
Three cars ago I finally gave up on a manual because I couldn’t find one anywhere. There were only a few specific model where it was a choice and I wasn’t interested in them. Turns out to be a good choice, as Boston traffic was much easier to deal with in an automatic.
Two cars ago I got a CVT and it is an amazing piece of technology! Worked out really well.
But now I have an EV, no transmission.
I gave up on teaching my teens to drive a manual because that technology is almost gone. And with EVs being the future, there’s no longer a reason for it to exist
I tried to always buy manuals, then I got married to someone who struggles with manuals. Now we have automatics sad times
I drove manual for nearly 20 year of my life and then I got married and had kids and now I have a Minivan and it’s the fucking tits.
A little over twenty years ago I switched. I think it used to be there were many upsides to manual, including better mileage. I think that has since flipped, or at least been largely mooted.
I still preferred manual for driving in snow, but I think even there if you have an automatic that shifts up/down, the advantages are mostly just a placebo, I think.
The main advantage for me is I can accelerate faster in a manual, automatics just can’t keep up out of the gate