Learning to drive a stick shift while being screamed at by a parent used to be a rite of passage for America's youth, but times have changed. Studies have shown fewer and fewer people are bothering to learn, the percentage of manual-equipped new car sales in this country is foundering in the low single digits, and electrification is threatening to do away with the H-pattern entirely. Thankfully, one automaker is trying to do something about it. As of today, Mini's stick shift driving school is open for business.Run a few times a month at BMW's Performance Center West in Thermal, California, the new half-day program is intended for people who have never so much as looked at a manual gear lever, teaching them the fundamentals of driving stick in a safe, controlled, low-pressure environment. It's $499 to sign up, and registration is open at this link. The goal is not to turn absolute novices into a heel-toeing Ayrton Senna clone in an afternoon, but to show people how fun it can be and provide a solid foundation they'll hopefully want to build on out in the real world. And who knows, maybe even with their next car purchase.
Read Article