Stick shift disappearing from vehicle lineups
LOS ANGELES — 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.
This is as true of everyday sedans as of souped-up sports cars. Mercedes-Benz, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Alfa Romeo, Volvo, Lexus, Chrysler and Buick no longer offer a single model with manual transmission. Audi, Jaguar, Cadillac and GMC offer only one.
“It’s a disgrace,” said driving enthusiast and Kelley Blue Book senior analyst Karl Brauer. “Yes, it’s more troublesome and expensive for the automakers. But it’s completely inexcusable that Ferrari doesn’t even offer a manual.”
In 2006, 47 per cent of new models offered in the U.S. were available with both automatic and manual transmissions, according to a study by Edmunds.com. By 2011, that number had dropped to 37 per cent. This year, the number has fallen to 27 per cent.
The actual sales figures are even lower. Edmunds senior analyst Ivan Drury said fewer than three per cent of current U.S. car sales are manual vehicles — compared with 80 per cent in some European and Asian countries.
“That number is never going to go back up,” Drury said. “The trajectory is down, headed for zero.”
For decades, almost all automakers offered almost all their vehicles with a choice of automatic or manual drive trains. The stick shift had so long been the standard that a manual transmission was actually known in the industry as a “standard” transmission.
Driving enthusiasts and bargain hunters preferred them, because cars with three pedals on the floor tended to perform better, get better gas mileage and cost less to buy — sometimes up to $1,000 cheaper.
But as automakers perfected the automatic transmission, and learned to make it less expensive and more dependable, drivers became accustomed to the relative ease of leaving the shifting to the car. Automatics gradually became the preferred option.
Cars equipped with the more sophisticated automatic transmissions now get better gas mileage than the manuals, fewer young people are driving — relying on public transportation or ride-sharing services — and fewer are able to operate manual transmissions.
Several companies still offer sticks in selected models, where they used to offer them across their entire line. Ford, Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Kia, Subaru, Volkswagen and Hyundai sell a handful.