I bought the S2K blueprint a while ago. I haven't had it framed yet, let alone hung. My office is the only spot and the walls there are pretty busy. Garage is wall to wall shelves and racks.

 

The wife has offered to buy me one but where I want to put it does not work into her decorating plan!

 

The end of the manual transmission? Let's hope not. From the Atlantic.

 

This sentence says it all:

"In 2000, more than 15 percent of new and used cars sold by the auto retailer CarMax came with stick shifts; by 2020, that figure had dropped to 2.4 percent."

Gene, I think the future for those of us who feel an attachment to both manual transmissions and love of the road has been slipping away for years. It will be 59 years since I bought my first sports car. Top down stick-shift driving on well maintained secondary roads through the country side with minimal traffic was (and is if you can find it) truly a joy. The romantic notion of those days combined with the adventure of driving a car such as mine with wooden floorboards, no air conditioning, no roll up windows, and a top that takes two people ten minutes to put up can be pushed aside because you know there is literally not one single part of the car, engine and transmission that your hands have not touched. I was so proud of myself when I rebuilt my first manual transmission I was gleaming from ear to ear. I did it all, step by step, from a book and laid out and numbered each part as I took it apart on a large table, row after row. Ah, that's what a synchro looks like. The second one I did years later even went smoother.

Today much of the joy of the road has been replaced with roads in terrible condition, dangerous drivers who are more interested in texting than driving, driver's that have no sense whatever of the speeds they are driving in the worst of conditions, and, etc., etc. I was probably in my mid-40s when I replaced my daily driver with a automatic transmission car. I worked in a congested traffic area north of Detroit in those days. I was happy to say good-bye to the manual.

 

An excellent article!

 

So, carmax doesn't exactly go for the enthusiast market. Lately if seen some promising signs. Civic Si and Type R remain manual only. Top tier A-spec Integra with tech package offers a manual. Toyota has decided to add a manual to the Supra lineup. Nissan Z, Toyota GR86, and Subaru BRZ all offer manuals and from what I hear the take rate on manuals on those cars is pretty high. According to Motor Trend there are a total of 33 models with available manuals in 2022, from the Chevy Spark to the BMW M3/4. And of course there's still the Miata. 76% of rag-top Miata buyers are still opting for the manual.

As raw performance becomes less and less competitive in ICE cars compared to electrics, I think the appeal of sporty cars to enthusiasts will be found in a car's driving dynamics and driver involvement, good news for us three-pedal enthusiasts.

 

WRX still comes in manual also.

 

According to Sandy Munro over 50% of the new car sales in the USA will be EV by 2028. This hour long show about Tesla and the EV future is very, very interesting.

 

Didn't watch it (yet?).... But, I wonder if that's because you won't have a choice. The manufacturers have all committed to this and cutting ICE models. Over time, the purchasing ratios will match the manufacturing ratios. If every manufacturer cut ICE engines by 2030, 2035, 2040, then 100% of new car sales would be EVs.

I'd think that a manufacturer who can continue to make a sub 20K ICE, Hybrid or EV in 10 years from now would be sitting on a goldmine with endless demand.

 

The Dodge Charger and Challenger have been put to rest , their poor fuel mileage cited as the issue. They may return as an electric version ?