Are Stick Shift Vehicles Making A Comeback? A New Study Is Revealing (2024)
After steadily losing the battle against automatics for the past 70 years, manual transmission sales are on the rise. Well, sort of. Before driving enthusiasts rejoice, consider that the recovery is very trivial — about a percentage point — the victory is small, by all definitions.
The world’s first car, the 1886 Benz Patent Motorwagen, had an automatic transmission — a continuously variable automatic transmission. It was celebrated for its innovation, but it was slow and unreliable. In 1894, Emile Levassor and Louis-Rene Panhardare developed the first manual gearbox. Although the workload on the operator was much more significant, the “stick shift” was smoother, faster, more efficient, and, for driving enthusiasts, more fun. It wasn’t long before the manual gearbox was commonplace.
Yet humans are lazy, so automakers diligently worked to develop a smooth, reliable, and efficient automatic transmission that would shift without operator input. It wasn’t until the mid-1950s that automatic transmissions were refined enough that consumers began to choose them over manuals — even paying a premium for the convenience of the ‘automatic.’ The sales of traditional ‘stick-shift’ gearboxes have fallen ever since.
A new report from CarMax, a popular used vehicle retailer based in the United States (the company sold 1,630,550 combined units in 2021), shows that after falling to 2.4% of sales in 2020, manual transmission sales at CarMax increased to 2.8% in 2021 and 2.9% in 2022. Those are impressive numbers, considering that the sales of electric vehicles are on the rise and few automakers offer new vehicles with the traditional gearbox (automotive experts say that fewer than 20% of American drivers can operate a manual transmission).
The vehicle retailer reports that the stick shift audience skews younger and male, with the typical manual car buyer four years younger than its average customer. During its study, the company noted that the Honda Civic, a popular compact car, was the top-selling manual vehicle. While manual gearboxes have traditionally been the no-cost option — making them popular with price-sensitive shoppers — CarMax reports that price is likely no longer the primary reason consumers select a stick shift.
“At CarMax, we’re committed to helping customers find the vehicle that best supports their lifestyle,” says Mark Collier, Regional Vice President General Manager at CarMax. “Customers have expressed interest in manual transmission vehicles due to a variety of factors, including nostalgia and throwback culture, and we often see those in the market to buy a sports car are looking for a manual transmission. We’ve also heard from parents car-shopping for their teens that they find stick shifts appealing because it requires the use of both hands, which may serve as a deterrent for texting while driving."
Are stick-shift transmissions going to replace automatics? Very unlikely. The reality is that most consumers seek to maximize convenience with their new cars, trucks, and crossovers. A traditional standard transmission requires work — the use of both arms and both legs — and increasing the workload on the operator does not appeal to most consumers.
That said, there will continue to be a market for the manual gearbox with driving enthusiasts who crave the visceral interaction with their vehicle. And automakers will continue to serve this small niche with new vehicles as long as federal regulators and legal emission requirements allow.
Since then, recent industry reports have shown a revival in manual transmission sales across the United States. According to J.D. Power, manuals accounted for 1.7% of total new vehicle sales in 2023, up from 1.2% in 2022 and a low of 0.9% in 2021. CarMax
CarMax
CarMax, Inc. is a used vehicle retailer based in the United States. It operates two business segments: CarMax Sales Operations and CarMax Auto Finance. The company began as a side business of Circuit City, opening its first location in September 1993 in Richmond, Virginia.
Following advancements in engineering and driving technology, by 2023, approximately 1.7% of all new cars were equipped with a manual transmission. However, according to a report by CarMax, there has been an uptick in sales for cars with a stick shift in the last few years.
What are the benefits of driving a stick shift car? One of the biggest benefits of driving a manual car is more engagement with the driving experience. When you drive a manual transmission vehicle, you need to make more decisions about driving based on road conditions, speed, road incline, and more.
Overall, driving a stick shift is more advantageous because of its better control. One can better control their speed and revs (engine revolutions per minute, RPM) due to the ability to change which gear the car is in manually. This is something that cannot be done in an automatic.
Driving a stick shift gives you better control of your car. For example, unlike automatic vehicles, you have more freedom to determine your engine's speed. Consider that transmissions in automatic vehicles are pre-programmed and are determined by factors such as traffic and road conditions.
Cars with a stick-shift usually last longer than an automatic of the same make and model. More Control – Perhaps the number one reason drivers prefer the manual transmission is the sense of control they feel over the vehicle.
There's no set ban on manual transmission itself, but there is a ban coming into place in 2035 on all petrol and diesel cars. That, by default, rules out manual cars, as all electric cars are automatic. The ban will only restrict the sale of petrol and diesel cars, though.
Perhaps at some point in the past, manual transmissions were truly and undoubtedly faster than their automatic counterparts. But thanks to advancements and innovations that have helped automatic transmissions become more efficient, they've easily surpassed the reliable old manual in terms of speed.
Apart from being more involved in the driving experience, you also have more control over the vehicle. Further, manual cars are less expensive for repair and maintenance. They're also more likely to be fuel efficient than many automatic vehicles.
Cars with manual transmissions are traditionally known to be more fuel efficient since the engines are lighter and less complicated. However, fuel efficiency in most car models varies by only a few miles per gallon depending on the transmission type.
The number one reason to choose a stick shift is that you like the feeling of being engaged with the car. You have more to do, and drivers who enjoy being behind the wheel often feel that manual transmissions are more fun than automatic ones.
If you do a lot city driving, an automatic may be easier to maneuver through stop and go traffic than a standard transmission. However, if performance and the driving experience matters to you, you might want to consider a manual. Another factor to keep in mind is if there'll be other people driving the vehicle.
You're involved in every decision and control every outcome. Like a record player, the stick shift demands that you remain involved throughout the drive,” he says. And for women, a man physically maneuvering a vehicle might sound off similarly ingrained notions of “manliness” and “ruggedness,” explains Kibbe.
Reliability. Manual transmissions are more reliable than automatics. When automatic transmissions go wrong, repair costs can stack up into thousands of dollars. Manual transmission cars, on the other hand, have a much lower chance of failure, and if something does go wrong are usually much cheaper to fix.
CarMax data shows a rise in manual transmission sales in 2021 and 2022. CarMax data highlights from January 2020 through December 2022: After falling to 2.4% of sales in 2020, manual transmission sales at CarMax increased to 2.8% in 2021 and 2.9% in 2022.
Although there are only a select few new cars that still offer a manual transmission, the ones that do still come with a stick-shift are among the most enticing sports cars, sports sedans, and hot hatchbacks on the market today. Here, we've ranked the best new cars that still offer a manual transmission in 2024.
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