"But by last year, according to Ward's Automotive Reports, manual transmissions accounted for just 8.7 percent of cars made in the United States, down from 12.4 percent in 1996."

...


"The European mind-set," Mr. Kester, "is A, you can't get good mileage with an automatic, and B, only weenies drive them."

...


http://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/28/national/28STIC.html



??

 

I think a lot of folks in the US:
1. are just to lazy to drive a manual
2. manufacturers don't make all vehicles available in manual in the US (automatics are standard in most of the SUVs, Mini-Vans, and large luxury standards that americans are so fond of)
3. most young drivers are taught in automatics and never learn manuals

 

My dad taught me manual first, but so many ppl I meet have never even driven manual. That's scary.

 

I was also taught to drive on a manual. I think it should be required that you take your driver's test on a stick. An auto is too easy. I've also met a lot of people who have never driven stick, a small minority have asked if I would teach them, the rest are either scared, think it's too hard, or have the "autos are better" mentality.

If only they knew the joy of shifting!

 

Oh: it's also harder to talk on the phone while driving a stick, wouldn't want to hinder people from not paying attention to the road.

 

Just takes practice and concentration.

 

It's starting to become a lost art.

 

I have a new appreciation for our Honda gearbox today.
I just returned from the Mercedes-Benz "Power Trip 2001". It's not often you get an opportunuty to flog a $100,000 automobile around a road course.
I really had a hard time with the automatics, it just doesn't feel right having never owned one. The SLK 320 had a 6 speed manual (although completely sloppy) and the pedals were just right for heel-toe. The SL500 had a conventional automatic that is easy to manual shift but it just isn't the same.
The AMG CL55 has a touch-shift that comes close to a paddle shifter. The AMG was worth the wait. If not for a little bit of lag I could learn to like the touch shift.
Watch out for the AMG SLK 3.8 later this year. The stock 380 should deliver 340 horses, no telling what the AMG model will produce.

 

You always get these chicks that want you to teach them how to drive a manual transmission on your S2. Forget that.

 

That's what beater cars (aka winter cars) are for