The manual transmission isn’t dead. Its purpose is changing.
Stick shifts were once the province of bargain cars. Today, they’re sold to people looking for a more connected driving experience rather than people looking to save money. And, increasingly, they’re sold to young people.
Related: Manual Cars Guide – Everything You Need to Know
A Manual Recovery
So far in 2023, about 1.7% of new cars sold have come equipped with a manual transmission, according to J.D. Power. That, believe it or not, is great news for stick-shift lovers.
In 2022, just 1.2% of cars had a third pedal. In 2021, the number was 0.9%.
The manual is now in a sustained recovery.
Our sister site, Autotrader, has seen 13% more pageviews on listings for manual-equipped cars so far in 2023 compared with the same time period last year.
Who’s Driving It?
A story in The Wall Street Journal argues that younger people are driving the stick shift resurgence.
More than half of buyers of manual-equipped Acura Integras have been between 18 and 46 years old, Acura tells the Journal. Mazda says about a quarter of manual MX-5 Miata buyers are 35 or under.
The cars, the Journal says, “entice younger consumers in the same way that vinyl records and point-and-shoot cameras do.”
A BMW survey of shoppers, the Journal says, “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’t already drive stick.”
Enthusiasts, Not Budget Shoppers
Automakers have spent a decade or more removing manual transmissions from many inexpensive cars. The most recent victim is perhaps the ultimate symbol of the change – history’s best-selling car, the Toyota Corolla, lost its manual option for 2023 (exception being the niche, high-performance GR Corolla).
Yet, Mini just brought the stick shift back in its cars, beloved for their taut handling and fun at neighborhood speeds.
Today’s most advanced automatic transmissions can shift faster than even a professional human driver. Thus, many exotic car builders like Lamborghini and Ferrari don’t even build a manual in 2023.
But there’s another category of cars aimed at people who love to drive but need more practicality than an exotic car can offer. Performance versions of luxury sedans, like the BMW M3 and Cadillac Blackwing models, still offer the stick. A 2020 Cadillac-sponsored survey found that interest in learning to drive a stick was higher among those with household incomes over $75,000 than those with lower incomes.
“Drivers who are sticking with sticks say that taking control of their clutches not only makes driving more fun but also provides a counter to an increasingly automated world,” explains the Journal.
That contrasts, of course, with the rise of electric vehicles (EVs), which have no transmissions at all.
But even in an EV-heavy world, there may be a place for the stick. Lexus has said it is developing a manual transmission for EVs.
The trick, apparently, will be building one young people can afford.
