My 2007 Honda Fit just broke 150k and was getting long in the tooth. It was about to need a bunch work costing more than the car was worth. Instead of putting the money into the tuna can, I picked up a lightly used 2016 Subaru Forester with a 6 speed manual transmission today. Now to come up with a name for it.
"The report from U.S. News and World Report show only 18 percent of U.S. drivers know how to operate a stick shift. It says that because of advancements in automatic transmissions and fuel economy, only about 5 percent of vehicles sold in the U.S. today come with a stick shift." - Article Call it Alice?
I will need to figure out a name... The fit was named Chester or Tuna Can. My bicycles are Blucifer and Sanford and the pups are Spike and Chico. It's not advancements in auto transmissions, it is because you cannot text and shift at the same time. Millennials killed the manual transmission. Now get off my lawn...
Rick, I wondered the same thing. When I saw Dale's post about a 6-speed manual I thought "they still make manuals?". My first vehicle was a manual Chevy S-10. Really enjoyed the manual experience and not sure I've seen one recently. Congrats, @PanChango!
Unfortunately, this is all but true. It is much harder to get one these days than even 5 years ago. While I can still get one, I much prefer to drive a manual. I know that Honda still offers manual transmissions in the Accord, Civic, and Fit. Mazda does in the Mazda3, Mazda5 (minivan), and the Miata. VW does for some cars as well. Toyota does with the Corolla and Nissan does in the Versa and Sentra. Subaru stopped with the Manual in the Forester in 2019, but you can still get the Impreza, Crosstrek, wrx and sti. They are still around, but not many are made and can be hard to find.
Thanks. I learned on a 1977 Datsun 200sx. Once I got the hang of it, I got to drive my dads F100 with 3 on the tree. Good times.
My '86 Ranger (5 speed manual) has a couple bumper stickers on the back window, placed low and out of my rear view mirror range - "Hang up & Drive" and "This is not FaceBook and I am not your friend" I taught all four of my kids to drive a manual. Even the tricky pointed up hill from a standing start move. Mine was a '76 Gremlin X, the Levi's Edition. When I bought my F100/3 on the tree I converted it to a floor shifter.
very cool.te were manuals,including 2 automatic volvo 240s i converted to stick shift..my present 09 mustang is auto but i like it..
Hah. It was going to start costing me more than it was worth to maintain it. Since I have been involved in NB19, I now have money to throw at a car.
