Never Stop Driving #41: The stickshift revival

I can’t believe I’m writing this, but the manual transmission is making a comeback. The data are admittedly thin, but according to J.D. Power, 1.7 percent of car buyers this year opted for a manual transmission, compared to 0.9 percent in 2021 and 1.2 percent in 2022. Furthermore, Tyson Jominy, the VP of J.D. Power’s information network, said that the manual buyers are no longer doing so to save money or gas with small subcompact cars; instead, they’re choosing to shift themselves with enthusiast cars like Toyota Supra and Jeep Wrangler. The Wall Street Journal and several other outlets pounced on the data and surmised that the stick shift is appealing in an analog way, like vinyl records.

Several brands have added manual transmissions to their lineups. The new Integra is the first Acura in half a decade to offer a manual gearbox. Mini added manual gearboxes to four models. The new Ford Bronco has a stick. BMW, Porsche, and Cadillac still offer manual transmission models. Two new boutique supercars, the Gordon Murray T.50 and Glickenhaus SCG 004, can be had with manuals.

2023 Acura Integra A-Spec interior shifter closeup
Matt Tierney

Here at Hagerty we welcome this news with open arms. Since 2011, our manual transmission classes, which are free, have taught 4500 people how to operate a manual transmission. Anecdotally, I’m also noticing more interest in manuals. We’ve lived in the same Ann Arbor home for 23 years and there’s usually some half-apart project car within easy view of the neighbors, so I’m well known as the car nut. In the past two years several new drivers have asked me to teach them how to drive a manual transmission, in stark contrast to our first two decades when not a single neighborhood kid asked. Of course, I obliged the requests and hope you do the same.

My personal relationship with manual shifting has, ahem, recently shifted since I bought my first daily driver with an automatic, a 2018 VW GTI. I did not miss the manual as I thought I might. Am I getting old? Also, while I initially loathed the lack of manual transmissions in high-dollar sports cars like the Ferrari 458, McLaren Artura, and Corvette Z06, I’ve come to recognize that those cars are now so powerful that—on public roads—one rarely finds an opportunity to wind the engine out between gears. I’d love to own a 458 even with the automatic transmission and am less dismissive of the feature than I used to be.

2023 Cadillac CT5-V interior shifter detail
Cameron Neveu

My personal transmission flexibility is generally not shared by the classic-car market. We reported, for example, that manual-equipped cars generally command high premiums over the same model with an automatic. I think this trend speaks to both a greater appreciation of analog pursuits but also perhaps a growing realization that we will lose something valuable if we relinquish driving duties to robots.

Those robotic efforts continue to advance, albeit at a slower pace than the autonomous hype machine once predicted. In February, Waymo reported that its vehicles had covered over one million miles without a human watcher behind the wheel. Cruise, the autonomous taxi company backed by GM, announced it had reached the same milestone on February 22. Both companies increased the size of the AV operational area. Waymo driverless taxis now run between downtown Phoenix and the airport. And Amazon-backed Zoox deployed its robot taxi, which doesn’t even have a steering wheel, on public roads.

Meanwhile, Hagerty video host Henry Catchpole got behind the wheel of two super compelling new cars, the Aston Martin Valkyrie and the Ferrari Purosangue. A 1964 Ferrari 250 LM and 1935 Voisin C25 Aerodyne took top honors at The Amelia Concours, and the event also produced several auction records.

See you next week!

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Comments

    Gender: Female
    Age- 73
    Current rides: ’16 Mazda3s 5dr-Manual; ’03 Vette 50th Anniv. Convert-Manual; ’68 Camaro convert 350/350-Manual; ’95 Camaro Z-28 convert- Automatic
    Guess which car gets driven the least!

    With the modern dual clutch transmission you can shift without the cumbersome foot pedal. There are always those that long for the good old days. Is the IBM Selectric typewriter next?

    Yes, the dual-clutch paddle shifters are definitely superior to manual in terms of response and performance. But I don’t have the muscle memory to use them. I somehow feel clumsy every time I try (my wife’s car has paddle shifters, albeit without a dual clutch…). Trying to turn the wheel while using the paddles feels unnatural and awkward. I have to think about what I’m doing, not “just drive”. I could train myself, maybe, but the decades of driving a stick make it much easier for me to just keep driving a stick. If I were a performance race driver I’d opt for every bit of advantage I could get, but I’m just an every day guy enjoying my drive.

    This is great news! Being an avid member of the “Save the Manuals” club, maybe we’re turning the corner? I’ve never really driven manuals for the fuel efficiency aspect. It was always for the increased connection with the vehicle. Maybe my past history riding and racing bicycles may have had some influence? Three of our four cars are manuals, and I certainly wouldn’t consider selling one of them without a duplicate replacement. Even though all of these cars are performance cars, there are those who taut increased shifting speed etc., for me I’ll gladly sacrifice this little advantage for the afore mentioned enjoyment.

    For those who want to relegate driving…if you can call it that…to automatic everything, more power to you. It’s not for TRUE motorsports folk who enjoy the mechanical connections!

    I keep driving a manual because I enjoy it, of course, but also for a personal challenge. As I age, I truly believe that it’s good for me to keep doing things that require some extra agility. And for this reason, I’m willing to take the punishment of driving a stick and clutch in stop-and-go traffic. I make it an extra challenge, and try to go very slowly, keep a distance, and wait as long as I can before I’m too close to the car in front of me and need to actually stop.
    I’ll drive a stick until I can’t drive a stick anymore.

    Have to say: I’m surprised at the number of manual-skeptics here. Maybe Hagerty should spin up an alternate publication/group and call it the “Hagerty Riders Club.” Automatics have their place, but in 90% of the cars in which you find them, they make the car more of an appliance and less of an engaging experience. If you’re bemoaning the end of the ICE era because you think the EV era is going to bring nothing but soulless transportation appliances, you’re not exactly helping stem the tide by championing automatics as superior to manuals. The less automatic a car is – whether it be transmission, infotainment, method of propulsion, or actual drivability – the better. Get involved with what you’re doing and don’t just be a passenger.

    My day car is an automatic, for routine driving and heavy traffic. My weekend car is a manual for mental engagement &enjoyment. My view is that for snow etc you need the manual /clutch option for better control. I used to hate one of my old autos charging gear half way round a bend and upsetting the balance of the car. A bad bout of snow in the UK a few years ago rendered all my auto BMW-driving colleagues immobile in their 2-ton RWD sledges.

    What I do need is a device in my automatic car to remind me at the top of the motorway slip road that there’s no clutch and thus avoid the unwanted emergency stop as i put my left foot on the brake with some force…

    Thanks for sharing, I always enjoy reading your column. My 23-year-old son is selling his E46 BWM with a manual because he just bought a C5 Corvette with a manual. He has already ordered coli overs, race brakes, new tires any numerous other items for the Vette. I work at the GM Proving Grounds and am lucky enough to drive a lot of fun cars. I drove a new Z06 this week. I was hesitant on the single choice of transmissions when the C8 came out. After driving many of them over the last few years on test tracks and public roads I am sold. I am usually in manual mode and shifting with the paddles. That car revs so fast it took some getting used to the timing for the shifts. I was driving the CT4 and CT5 Blackwings over the last couple years. I loved the 10-speed auto CT5 cars. After driving one with a manual I decided that was my favorite. Both are impressive but that 6 speed is very satisfying! Long live the manual with a powerful gas V8 engine in front of it! Of course, I do love the new ERay with the electric front drive and a beastly V8 behind the seat!

    My 2010 GTI has a DSG, I wanted to try these new production transmissions. It’s fine, I can understand why these are so good for racing, but when it came time to buy a 2016 VW R, there was no choice, a manual was the only way for me to go. Ironically, the clutch in the R’s is the VW’s weakness. Oh well, I have a SACKS performance clutch to replace it when that time comes for replacement.

    Once a year, everyone needs to watch “iRobot”. Big corporations and the government always know what’s best for you. Grape Koolaid anyone?

    Of the 25 cars and trucks I’ve owned over the years, 25 have been sticks. My latest purchase (2009) was a Nissan Frontier 4×4. Even back then it was hard to find a stick shift truck. Took me several months of looking on Auto Trader over a near 150 mile radius to find what I was looking for. I’m one of those 5-6% of 4×4 owners who actually drive off-road; I can’t imagine driving an automatic in soft beach sand…in that instance I think I’m smarter than a transmission when it comes to selecting the proper gear to keep from getting stuck!

    When I tell my car friends that I have a DOHC V-6, six speed stick, 4 wheel disks and all wheel drive, with a 2+2 body they’re really impressed with my “sports car”… till I tell ’em it’s a pickup truck. But I despair of finding a stick shift replacement when it comes time to buy a new truck…so this one’s gotta last.

    Nice article Larry ! There’s just something about a manual transmission and your connection to the car itself !

    In my opinion, it is a valued part of the driving experience to have that 3rd pedal. I own a late model Challenger and one of the “must haves” was a manual transmission. It adds to my overall driving experience.

    I have a 2012 Boss Mustang an enjoy having to shift, but I don’t need 6 speeds, this car with a 4 speed would have been perfect for me.

    All my vehicles are manual. 2015 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited daily driver, 1984 Toyota Supra weekend car and 2012 Honda CBF600SA sport touring motorcycle.
    LaHave, Nova Scotia, Canada

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