Rowing your own gears is gradually becoming a lost art as more and more automakers eliminate the third pedal. The convenience of an automatic is undeniable, but there are other reasons why stick shifts are disappearing. Increasingly complex driver assistance systems are geared (get it?) toward automatic transmissions. Engineering a car with both types of gearboxes increases costs, which are difficult to recoup as manual take rates continue to decline. Emissions regulations also play a role, as modern automatic transmissions tend to be more efficient than manual ones.
At the core of the manual’s downfall, however, is weakening demand. Automakers might be more willing to overcome those obstacles if more people were buying three-pedal cars. But they aren’t, and things will likely get worse, given the shrinking number of performance models and the rise of EVs. In an interview with Car Magazine, Hyundai’s Managing Director of the Europe Technical Centre in Germany went so far as to say that “nobody wants manual gearboxes anymore.”
Read Article