https://www.thetimes.com/comme...kward-step-fqlxd0rr9

Driving manual was one of the last necessary skills of physicality for the overeducated majority

It’s hard to be bracketed as one of a “dwindling band of enthusiasts”, like some sheepskin-coated buffer with a vintage Lagonda who bangs on about double-declutching. With resigned sadness I learn that only one in five new cars in the UK has a manual gearbox, and a generation is opting for an automatic-only driving test. Soon we will be like clutch-phobic Americans unable to “drive stick”.

I suppose it was always coming as EVs increase, and maybe the soothing quality of leaving decisions to a robot suits fretful souls. A chap from Auto Express says some suffer “stress” and fear of stalling. But it feels like a step backward for humanity.

I have, with kindly tact, stopped calling my husband’s car “a dodgem” but I cleave to my gear stick. There is something masterful and deliberate about changing gear yourself. It focuses you, the smooth growl of change reminding you that despite this age of button-pushing and screen-swiping you are not playing video games but in personal control of a big, heavy, dangerous machine: you’re a watchful human responsibly attuned to its sounds and strains.

Driving manual was one of the last necessary skills of physicality for the overeducated majority who don’t have a craft requiring routine dexterity. As AI and shrinking attention spans erode us mentally, so changes like this reduce the palpable necessity for co-ordination and let relevant brain cells atrophy.

Education gives ever less priority to physical prowess outside a few sports: medical schools and surgeons complain that high-rated students have spent so much time in front of screens that they need far more sewing lessons and practice than ever before. Robotic surgery can’t yet do everything, and one professor lamented that kids leave school unable to use scissors. Some are promoting embroidery. A vascular surgeon said she is pleased if a student can knit and sew; others might be relieved to see recreational carpentry or bike maintenance on an application.

As for humbler craft apprenticeships, attracting ever more 18-year-olds with top A-levels who want to avoid student debt, recruiters may find a dispiriting number who have never done anything much with their arms and hands, even easing a gear lever to reverse.

We are animals living in real space and time, and need to be made to feel it daily. Manual driving helps. The trend won’t reverse, but I notice one interestingly naff development: for sale online are dozens of “gearstick hoodies”, tiny jackets to make the knob into a cosy friend. Perhaps others are mourning with me.

The standard stick shift is a great anti-theft device. Not perfect, but pretty damn good.

"Gear stick", I didn't understand until I read the article and realized the steering wheel was on the wrong side.

Honda [Civic Si/TypeR]
Toyota [GR86/Corolla]
Subaru [BRZ/WRX]
Mazda [Miata]
Ford [Mustang]
Porsche [911/Cayman/Boxster]

Struggling to come up with any others, on a quick thought, that offer a sporty/performance car with a manual.

Can't recall if any BMW M cars still offer a manual.

Any time, a manual transmission was available I took it over the slushbox. I have a new 6MT, well relatively new, a 2023 bought new in that same year and I have plans for another (addition to my fleet) for my next purchase to replace my DD. A manual does require engagement in driving. It’s why I love it so much. You feel locked in. I detest the smartphones and I don’t like ADAS either. Driving, and riding, are both huge passions and I’m not giving them up. The problem is today, people care more about their E life than their real life. They care more about their phone than driving. Driving to them, is a chore, and they’d rather be chauffeured around by Uber or Hal9000.

I have 4 manual transmission equipped vehicles (3 bikes, 1 car) and can’t wait to get my next one. I want an additional 6MT equipped car, and an additional 6MT motorcycle, before they are all gone. They are going the way of the dodo.

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:



Education gives ever less priority to physical prowess outside a few sports: medical schools and surgeons complain that high-rated students have spent so much time in front of screens that they need far more sewing lessons and practice than ever before. Robotic surgery can’t yet do everything, and one professor lamented that kids leave school unable to use scissors. Some are promoting embroidery. A vascular surgeon said she is pleased if a student can knit and sew; others might be relieved to see recreational carpentry or bike maintenance on an application.

As for humbler craft apprenticeships, attracting ever more 18-year-olds with top A-levels who want to avoid student debt, recruiters may find a dispiriting number who have never done anything much with their arms and hands, even easing a gear lever to reverse.

The same can be said for incoming auto repair techs as well.


On a side note, my left hip and knees give me trouble. Everything I drove 10yrs ago was manual. Now automatic for me, between the stop and go traffic, and just getting old.

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
Honda [Civic Si/TypeR]
Toyota [GR86/Corolla]
Subaru [BRZ/WRX]
Mazda [Miata]
Ford [Mustang]
Porsche [911/Cayman/Boxster]

Struggling to come up with any others, on a quick thought, that offer a sporty/performance car with a manual.

Can't recall if any BMW M cars still offer a manual.

Acura Integra

I was seriously considering a manual transmission car for a second car, but with my knees driving in traffic, I think I'd suffer. It's a serious concern because a car purchase is no small thing...of course.

quote:

Originally posted by Prefontaine:
Any time, a manual transmission was available I took it over the slushbox.
<snip>

A DCT isn’t a slushbox. It combines the best features of manual and automatic transmissions.

quote:

There is something masterful and deliberate about changing gear yourself. It focuses you, the smooth growl of change reminding you that despite this age of button-pushing and screen-swiping you are not playing video games but in personal control of a big, heavy, dangerous machine: you’re a watchful human responsibly attuned to its sounds and strains.

This quote speaks the truth. Modern cars are like playing video games. Hell, you don't even turn a key anymore, you push a button. I think that in (perhaps) an attempt to give drivers the freedom to be more engaged by not having to focus on little things, the opposite has occurred and they have become more complicated requiring more attentiveness to the gadgets than the actual vehicle and driving. You should be in control of the vehicle, not the other way around.

I took the '77 pickup (3+1) into town this morning and it is just a joy to drive. Yeah, I've driven 113s that were probably smoother rides, but there's just something about the old beast. I love it.

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
Honda [Civic Si/TypeR]
Toyota [GR86/Corolla]
Subaru [BRZ/WRX]
Mazda [Miata]
Ford [Mustang]
Porsche [911/Cayman/Boxster]

Struggling to come up with any others, on a quick thought, that offer a sporty/performance car with a manual.

Can't recall if any BMW M cars still offer a manual.

Cadillac
CT4 You can get a twin turbo V6
CT5 You can get a supercharged V8

Although I agree with the overall sentiment, it's okay to move on...

quote:

Originally posted by Prefontaine:
A manual does require engagement in driving. It’s why I love it so much. You feel locked in.

Old neighbor, he would be nearly 100 if he were still alive, he used to say, "in an automatic, you're not driving, you're just steering."

quote:

Originally posted by 6guns:
Acura Integra

I was seriously considering a manual transmission car for a second car, but with my knees driving in traffic, I think I'd suffer. It's a serious concern because a car purchase is no small thing...of course.

I have an Integra Type S and the 6-speed and clutch are so good it would not be an issue in traffic. Add to that automatic rev matching on downshifts and it's a joy to drive.

My other car is 6-speed 2017 Civic Si, and it's fine too, just a bit clunkier on the shifter and of course about 2/3 the power and torque of the Type S.

2013 Mazda 3 with a manual. Tiny little gutless wonder, but it's been reliable and gets 35mpg around town, and it's WAY more fun (and simpler) than a Prius.

quote:

Originally posted by Lefty Sig:

quote:

Originally posted by 6guns:
Acura Integra

I was seriously considering a manual transmission car for a second car, but with my knees driving in traffic, I think I'd suffer. It's a serious concern because a car purchase is no small thing...of course.

I have an Integra Type S and the 6-speed and clutch are so good it would not be an issue in traffic. Add to that automatic rev matching on downshifts and it's a joy to drive.

My other car is 6-speed 2017 Civic Si, and it's fine too, just a bit clunkier on the shifter and of course about 2/3 the power and torque of the Type S.

Thanks for that insight, Lefty. I became interested in the Integra based on your thread.

I almost did.

To get to work early in the morning, the roads are empty and all nine traffic lights are downhill.

To get back home during the day? The lights aren't the problem, but the F*****g idiots that I have to share the road with going 15 MPH slower than the posted limit and hit the brakes every time their cell phone tells them to turn in a mile and the incompetent B****es who can't just drive down the damn road in a straight line? The light is now green --> Screen time is over with!

Um, no. I can barely make it down the road with an automatic. There is no way in hell I'd try it with a manual, much less a motorcycle.

It was great when a transmission would 99% of the time out last the vehicle… you might need a clutch. Automatics are so complicated now they’re super expensive to repair and shops usually just spec a replacement with a new one when they fail. Many thousands of dollars.

I knew when Automatics fuel milage bested that of manual it was the death nail…

I learned on a ‘57 Chevy three in the column. Wife learned on a ford tractor and her first car was manual.

Meh. We are OK with either. I do still have a manual… a ‘17 Miata.

The first vehicle I ever bought was a new 5-speed 1980 Honda Accord hatchback.
I wore that thing out, and it kept on going.
Years later, I had a 1990 Nissan Pathfinder with a standard transmission.

After I was hired as a UPS driver in 1986, driving standard transmissions was just the way it was.
Then on to driving semis for UPS in 1994.
From 5 speeds to 10 speeds with a splitter, it was just a natural existence.

Then, about 8 or 9 years ago, we started getting automatic semi-tractors.
I can't tell you how many times I've been stuck turning left in an intersection, waiting for the transmission to figure out the gear it wanted.
Even worse is backing up to a dock door.
With a clutch, I had total control over the vehicle.
With an auto, I have to feather the pedal waiting for it to move, it's either all or nothing going in reverse.

I miss the standard transmissions at work.
Wouldn't mind having one in my Tundra.

It is funny when the wife and I are out and about how many valets have 'No standard transmission" signs...

This message has been edited. Last edited by: 1lowlife,

Currently trying to find a used Crosstrek with a manual. Almost impossible.

Our '98 F150 is a 5 speed. Our kids learned to drive on it.

I put a Doug Nash 5-speed in my 78 Corvette after I got it. I jacked it up and installed it in the apartment parking lot.
Then I changed the rear-end to a 2:73.