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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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Remember Darwin; building a better mousetrap merely results in smarter mice.
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Saturday November 19 2016, @02:06AM
My sister used to be a stick shift bigot. Swore up and down it was all she'd drive.
Lately she wound up driving an automatic, cuz that's what was supplied by her office.
Says to me: "I can't believe I spent all those years working that hard just to drive the damn car!"
Me: I told you so...
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.