Estimated 6% of cars to have manuals by 2012.

I hope manuals never completely disappear. I've only owned two cars, but they were both manuals. I feel uncomfortable whenver I drive my friends cars. I keep trying to mess around with their shifters.

 

shame.. I learnt to drive on a manual car and prefer it over an auto anyday of the week. I remember the joy of getting it right the first time and the smile on my face knowing I didn't mess up.
To this day I prefer a manual be it with my SS or in my beater (brother now drives it but even he learnt on it and loves it) it would be a shame to have to settle for an auto or a manumatic.

 

yea, i don't foresee manuals completely disappearing ever
but yea, i do to like the manual
coming from both ends of the spectrum, autos are nice to cruise in, but manuals just have that "fun" feeling in them
so my advice is....get one with an auto and one with a stick

 

I read less than 5% of CTS sales come from manuals.

My next car/truck will an automatic, I have to drive though like 27 lights on the way to work (7mi.)

It really isn't worth putting a manual in a non-performance car. non-enthusiest don't want them.

 

Yup.. in the truck.. or a comfortable sedan, i like having auto's..

Anything thats anywhere orientated to performance needs a manual..

Although, I hear the BMW SMG's are nice.. I never tried one of those.. I can imagine getting one in a lux coupe..

 

It's too bad that most Americans just don't see the enjoyment that can come from shifting ones own gears. But when most Americans don't even bother to get a stickshift in their weekend only sports cars, you know the end is near...

American in the country: "I don't ever need to shift (or I forget to shift) since I'm just on the highway."

American in the city: "There is too much traffic and too many stoplights."

I think it's great in any car, anywhere. Hell, it even makes the 120HP Jetta pretty fun to drive. I can't imagine how boring it would be with an autobox. And yes, I deal with a crapload of traffic every day.

 

Those manu-matics have taken a huge stride of popularity. Nice option, but nothing like a true stick IMO.

 

It isn't the shifting that people don't like.. It's the clutch

 

That's because until later on this year, all of them were stuck with the boat-anchor 3.2L V6.

 

Heh, after reading that article more closely, I think manuals should be mandatory for some people. It might stop them from talking on their cell phones.

 

manuals are far more fun to drag race! Plus they take skill
(although you might end up losing in bracket racing to Dodge Diplomat taht runs 19's)

Very first run in my 86 LX--I clicked off the best run I ever got.

A good manual trans is a JOY to drive---even with lots of lights. Todays clutches are very light---at least compared to the saginaw 4 speed in my old 76 Camaro---now that was a PITA. New cars are nice--I test drove a Mazda 3 2.3L and the clutch and shifter are perfect.

 

i agree. If all i had to do was just shift the damn thing then id never own a car that was an auto. And i think if thats all you had to do most if not all sports car owners would prefer a manual. Its all about the clutch...

Also, those Manumantic things or whatever thrye called are pretty cool. My friend has one in his prelude and i drove it and it was pretty cool.

 

Pity....I'm not a fan of the slushbox...

The sole reason I selected my SVT over a GTP was the fact that it came with 3 pedals...

It's like WERM said, snicking through the cogs makes even the most mundane appliance of a car interesting...

Oh well, as long as Corvette and Camaro(?) are always available w/ 3 pedals, I'm happy.

 

Sure it is. Fuel economy and cost. That's why my Cavalier beater has a 5-spd.

 

Its not worth it to the manufactorer if less than 5% of the people that buy then want a manual.

6-speed automatic with a tall overdrive will solve that fuel economy problem.