As we’ve been telling you for years now, the manual transmission is on the way out. While it seems that the enthusiast community is being brought to its knees over this, most consumers don’t care. Why?
Well, driving a manual is more “work” for some. This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise given that people today would rather turn on the television to learn about the latest Kardashian saga and stuff their face with a cronut than do just about anything else.
In turn, this has led to manual-equipped vehicles of specific make and models spiking in value. In some cases, vehicles have doubled in value simply for having a third pedal. As you may expect with Ferrari and Lamborghini abolishing standard gearboxes, later model year vehicles with the extra pedal are in high demand.
One thing I have to admit though is that I’ve never had the pleasure of driving a gated manual. I just missed the cut off for getting behind the wheel of exotica with a do-it-yourself tranny and instead everything I’ve driven has either a sequential manual or a dual clutch.
That said, I came across this video of a Ferrari 360 Modena getting a workout. Of course it is optioned with a six-speed and an aluminum ball shifter. It has me wondering if I am missing out.
What say you, Spies? Are gated manuals all they’re cranked up to be?