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Visitors to the upcoming Los Angeles Auto Show will see supercars, hoverboards, self-propelling luggage and all manner of new transportation options.
But they'll be hard pressed to find a clutch pedal or a stick shift. Available in nearly half of new models in the U.S. a decade ago, the manual transmission is going the way of the rumble seat, with stick availability falling to about a quarter this year.
Once standard equipment on all motor vehicles, preferred for its dependability, fuel efficiency and sporty characteristics, the four-on-the-floor is disappearing from major car manufacturers' lineups — and subsequently from the sprawling auto show's floors.
Consider, too, that electric vehicles don't even have a transmission.
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The Disappearing Stick Shift: Less Than 3% of Cars Sold in the U.S. Have Manual Transmissions
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(Score: 2) by yarp on Tuesday November 22 2016, @12:26PM
With my automatic gearbox, engine speed is higher in top gear as compared to the manual (but not by more than a couple of hundred RPM). Top is also the only gear which is mechanically-linked rather than hydraulically so drivetrain losses ought to be at their lowest, as I understand it.
After more than a decade of driving only a manual I've found the auto can be just as much fun when you've learnt its quirks. It has an automatic "sport" mode which changes shift points based on how hard you mash the accelerator pedal. One downside is that the car is a little more front-heavy.