Why drivers don't want to let go of the stick shift

Are stick shifts making a comeback? Automatic transmissions dominate the car world these days, but there was once a time when knowing how to operate a stick was a necessary skill for most drivers — that's why they called it a "standard" transmission. But now stick shifts "are experiencing a modest but real resurgence," The Wall Street Journal reports. Sales of three-pedaled cars are rising, and carmakers like Mini and Mazda are "doubling down" on the models. Why? Young drivers are behind the trend. "Many millennial and Gen Z manual enthusiasts" have discovered they love the old-fashioned way of driving, the Journal reports.

Why did stick shifts fall out of fashion?

Automatic transmissions have been around forever, but it's only in recent decades that they overtook stick shifts as the dominant model. The Atlantic's Ian Bogost noted in 2022 that manual transmissions were 15 percent of new and used car sales in 2000 — and just 2.4 percent two decades later. Why? Electrification is part of the reason: Those newfangled vehicles "don't even have gearboxes." But it's also a matter of automatics getting better over the years, Cars.com's Joe Wiesnfelder wrote in 2020. Stick shifts used to have a fuel efficiency advantage over automatics. That's changed. But it's also the case that automatics are simply more convenient, he said: "Stick-shift drivers will never get to relax while their cars accelerate and brake them — all the way to a stop — through a miles-long traffic jam like automatics equipped with adaptive cruise control can."

The result? Fewer Americans than ever know how to drive a stick:

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Are stick shifts coming back?

A little perspective here: Stick shifts are making a comeback in the same way that vinyl records — to which the old-style cars are frequently compared — are making a comeback. That is, neither is as dominant as they used to be in their respective fields, but they're both doing better than was expected. Manual transmissions are running about 1.7 percent of new car sales so far this year, up from 0.9 percent in 2021, the Journal reports. That's not exactly a world-beating number. Still, stick shift enthusiasts tend to be really enthusiastic so car companies still want to appeal to them. At Mini — which tends to market to a certain kind of affordable-but-stylish car lover — manual cars account for up to 20 percent of its sales, Autoblog reports. That's why the company just expanded the number of models it offers with stick.

What role are young drivers playing?

It's not just that stick shifts aren't as popular as they once were. Driving itself isn't quite as much in fashion among young people: Just 80 percent of adults in their early 20 had their licenses in 2020 — down 10 percent from 1997. But the Journal points out that the young people who remain on the road seem to be among the biggest customers for sticks: More than half the people who bought the manual version of the Acura Integra were younger than 46, and about a quarter of manual Miata owners were younger than 35. What's going on? The people who still are driving want to have fun. "Stick shifts were once the province of bargain cars," Kelley Blue Book reports. "Today, they're sold to people looking for a more connected driving experience rather than people looking to save money."

What are the benefits of a stick shift?

It's all about the feel. "Controlling the shifts between gears, as well as upshifting and downshifting, gives enthusiasts a racecar-like sensation," Kenny Norman wrote at HotCars.com in 2020. That gives them more of a sense of control over the vehicle they're operating. For other folks, though, it's about retaining a connection to older ways of doing things — or having that connection thrust upon them, if they grew up with parents who insisted on learning to drive a stick. "My parents had a '96 Dodge Dakota. Actually, they still have it. The sucker just keeps on running," BYU student Barry Donakey told The Universe last fall. "It's a stick shift, so if we wanted to be able to drive a car to school, with friends, all that stuff, that was the car that we had to drive." Still, the student newspaper noted, "Generations Y and Z could be the last generations to have had access to manual cars while learning to drive."

What's next?

As the American auto fleet becomes increasingly electrified, stick shifts will be harder to find. Carmakers are trying to figure out how to offer a fun experience for drivers who now prefer the stick — and have even contemplated creating a simulated stick shift experience for drivers of electric cars, Car and Driver reports. Honda execs are skeptical. "I'm not sure if we can replace the manual transmission," one told the website. But Toyota in 2022 patented a stick shift system for electrical cars. "The working principle for the system relies on a special controller that alters the torque of the electric motor in order to make it seem more gas car-like," Inside EVs reports. Everything new, it seems, will someday soon be old again.