I understand why so many people out there have no interest in cars. Driving an automatic is boring as shit.
I will always love manuals, but I did get an automatic recently and was like “man it’s kind of nice not to always have to do all that shit.”
I have a subaru Crosstrek. It’s automatic but can flip to semi-manual using shift paddles and auto clutch. I piss off my car friend by saying I drive a manual, since it’s technically not.
The crosstrek isn’t even a real automatic either, it’s got subaru’s really shitty homebrew CVT that had all the weird failure problems. So you’re a double poser! Lol
We in Belgium are making the shift from all manual to all automatic.
For a real drive (race? Rally?) I absolutely agree that manual is just better.
For day to day commute, automatic is just a lot easier. And that, combined with the fact that in a few years every car being sold here will be an EV, will result in my kids never learning to drive stick.
There a also a few EVs with stick.
https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a44211128/toyota-prototype-ev-sports-car-manual-transmission/
There may be EVs with manual transmission if Toyota decides to put it into production. I wonder if they can come up with some advantage from pairing electric motors with a manual transmission.
When people actually BUY cars with manual transmissions, then they make sense. Until then, economies of scale will win, and it’s much easier and cheaper for a manufacturer to produce a single offering that works for everyone rather than multiple offerings that require multiple part numbers and tooling.
Both my cars are DCT. Would I love to have a manual again? Yes. However, these shift faster than you or I ever could. We haven’t been played, people just don’t buy the things they keep asking for, because they aren’t practical or because they can’t afford it.
I’ve owned about 10 cars in my life. Six of them have been manual. Three of the four others were never even offered with a manual transmission as an option. And, not for nothing, but it’s nice not having to deal with a clutch in stop and go traffic.
And while cars may be about driving for the likes of us, they’re merely a means of transportation for most people. Hell, the majority of people can barely gauge the size of their vehicle, and drive terribly in general. Your suggestion that all cars should be manual because all cars are for driving enjoyment is a false premise to begin with. For some people cars are a status symbol, for others it’s the best means of transportation because there’s no mass transit near them, or because they simply prefer a car to mass transit.
