Manual transmission for cars in the U.S. was once the norm before improved technology made automatics the preferred option for any and all drivers.
Now automatic vehicles almost totally dominate the market, drivers who still prefer the feeling of control offered by a manual are left wondering just who supplies them.
The Detroit Free Press has compiled a list of the automakers who continue to roll out manual transmission vehicles.
The following includes vehicles with manual transmission options from the 2023 and 2024 market as reported by the Detroit Free Press:
- Acura Integra Type S
- BMW M2
- BMW M3
- BMW M4
- Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing
- Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing
- Chevrolet Camaro
- Dodge Challenger R/T
- Ford Bronco
- Ford Mustang
- Honda Civic
- Hyundai Elantra N
- Jeep Gladiator
- Jeep Wrangler
- Kia Forte GT
- Lotus Emira
- Mazda 3
- Mazda Miata
- Mini Cooper
- Mini Clubman
- Nissan Versa
- Nissan Z
- Porsche 718
- Porsche 911
- Porsche Spyder
- Subaru BRZ
- Subaru Crosstrek
- Subaru Impreza
- Subaru WRX
- Toyota Corolla GR
- Toyota GR86
- Toyota Supra
- Toyota Tacoma
- Volkswagen Jetta
- Volkswagen GTI/Golf R
“Because of the way cars are built, manual transmissions used to be the cheap car, the value car because they got better gas mileage and they cost less,” said Brian Moody, executive editor of Autotrader and Kelley Blue Book told the Free Press.
Now that has changed although many countries continue widespread use of manual transmission vehicles, including in parts of Europe, Latin America, and Africa, according to experts.
What about the future on U.S. roads?
File/15 October 2020, Lower Saxony, Hanover: The automatic transmission in an Opel Zafira. More and more cars in Germany have an automatic transmission, some models are no longer available otherwise. But the manual transmission still has its fans around the world. (Julian Stratenschulte/picture alliance via Getty)
“You have to go out of your way to look for a manual transmission car and the specific applications are, it offers a certain kind of control that most people either don’t need or don’t want,” Moody concluded.
Of course, not everyone has the necessary skills to enjoy a stick shift.
A car thief in Birmingham, Alabama, who led police on a slow-speed chase, later admitted he never got past 30-miles-per-hour because he could not figure out how to use a manual transmission.
Jefferson County Chief Deputy Randy Christian told AL.com that the chase lasted 16 miles and only stopped when the transmission of the stolen vehicle finally conked out.
Read the full story in the Detroit Free Press here