In reply to Apexcarver:
Hmm, there were a couple Lambos in last weekend's World Challenge race. In fact one of them won the race outright. But I know what you mean. It's just that it seems we are raising more poseurs than enthusiasts these days. And I'm not sure it's for a good reason. My kids bring their friends to autocrosses and they immediately want to get involved. The problem is that up until then they didn't know it existed. I know my own personal experience may not be representative of the whole, but based on my kid's friends it really seems like the problem is that they have no where to be exposed to or learn how to drive a manual trans car, not that they don't want to.
My sister drives a slushbox NB. Total PITA car for her to own, but she likes the look. This is the kind of person who is waiting for an automatic Fiat 500 - and they outnumber us in a big way.
This is true that less teens want to get their licenses and drive. I blame technology and social media.
My old boss is one of the biggest car guys with a large collection of cars. His son, who I think is 18 now, refused to get his license. My old boss was beyond confused and frustrated. He even bought a mint 1980 AMC Concord for him to drive.
This society is getting sad.
A mint Concord? That's how he tried to talk his son into getting a license?
Joe Gearin wrote:
If we want to save the stick......we're gonna have to make some enthusiast babies!
Doing my part. My little enthusiast to be got here yesterday. (Not to derail the thread)
I figure she should be able to rebuild a 13b by 8 
. I'll probably always have a turbo Mazda for her to learn on. I'm kinda hooked now.
On topic, it really depends where you live now though. I grew up in the tail end of no where so if I wanted to hang out with my friends or play sports I needed to get myself there.
I intend to do the same thing for my kids.
bravenrace wrote:
You're right about that. My kids both have friends, guys, that don't have a driver's license. They don't see a need for it. I can hardly believe that.
I partially blame the parents. A lot of them coddle the kids and run errands for them or drive them to every event they have. Make them start missing parties or the like and they would find the need for a license pretty quick, in my opinion.
NOHOME
SuperDork
4/8/14 5:49 p.m.
Next time I fly into Yurrup on business I will let you know if the manualbox is going away. If they so much as know of a rental car with an automatic box, I will concede that the manual is on the way out.
Pertaining to this topic, as I continue to live with my first six speed box, I think it is stupid. 1-2-4-6 seems to be the shift pattern of choice. The rest is pointless unless you get off on moving a lever for the sake of moving a lever. Unless your race the car, I maintain that the automatic brings no measurable downside compared to the manual and a big upside in traffic acomodation.
Will
SuperDork
4/8/14 5:59 p.m.
nderwater wrote:
P.S. to Fiat - That doesn't matter, because neither do young people buy new cars.
One of the blogs I read, The Ad Contrarian, points out that this is a core problem with marketing and marketers. Ad agencies have convinced all their clients that old people (who have all the purchasing power) want to be like young people, so the ads need to have young people in them to show how cool the product is.
But people old enough to afford a new car don't want to be like young people--they want to be youthful, and there's a huge difference between the two ideas.
Im only 18 and it makes me sad when I look around my college campus and a good 98% of the cars are autos. My best friend and girlfriend know how to drive manuals which is good. I honestly think that if more people learned how to drive a manual they wouldnt drive distracted.
bravenrace wrote:
A mint Concord? That's how he tried to talk his son into getting a license?
No no no, he bought it for him to drive. He bought it after the fact hoping he would eventually come around.
Also, if you saw the collection of cars he has, the Concord would be one of the most normal.
Joe Gearin wrote:
If we want to save the stick......we're gonna have to make some enthusiast babies!
No, if you want to save the stick, you guys better start buying new berking cars. Manufacturers don't build cars for the used market.
Every new car I have bought is a manual.
1966stang wrote:
My 21 year old son and 17 year old daughter are pretty much manual only. Car guys need to breed more.
Which should be a good excuse for another of our fav. activities. Tell the wife you need to get it on....so we can save the Manuals!
Way ahead of you. my wife and i drive manuals and just had a kid. more to follow at some point, too. if they dont want to learn manual, they better like riding a bicycle 
Took our Citroen wagon to a local ricer cruise in, and on a car none of them had seen before, with obscene carrying capacity, factory height adjustable hydropneumatic suspension, and all the oddness that comes with an early eighties French car, the majority of comments were "Hey, it's got a five-speed!"
I'd like to see a comparison to sales of the Focus ST and Fiesta ST. I know a lot of people of my age group would love to drive manual, its just that they've never been taught or have parents that know how to drive manual. Also, I think part of the barrier for learning to drive a stick shift is having someone that is patient enough to teach them. When I taught my younger sister to drive stick shift in my older sister's Sentra SE-R, she was really frustrated the first couple times at how difficult clutch balancing was. But after I kept encouraging her she got it and was really excited about driving stick.
bravenrace wrote:
All I know is that I've been searching dealers for new cars under $20k with manuals, and nobody stocks any.
Hyundai Elantra GLS is well under $20k with stick
Sample
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hyundai-Elantra-SE-2014-SE-New-1-8L-I4-16V-Manual-Front-wheel-Drive-Sedan-Premium-/261435211524?forcerrptr=true&hash=item3cdec0bf04&item=261435211524&pt=US_Cars_Trucks
When I got my license 10 years ago, regular was about $1.80/gallon in my area. Minimum wage was $5.15. March's average price per gallon was $3.60, and minimum wage is now $7.25. Gas is up 100%, starting wages are up 43%.
Raze
UltraDork
4/8/14 10:05 p.m.
I solved not knowing how to drive a manual by buying a new DD with a stick, then a race car with a stick, then an old Fiat with a stick...once surrounded you only have one choice...
when I bought my 1999 Tiburon new off of the lot. Out of the almost 20 cars they had, mine was the -only- manual tib they had.
My disco is my first autotragic... everyday I wish it was a manual
Storz
Dork
4/9/14 6:01 a.m.
I drive a statistic unicorn, a manual wagon! Long live three pedals.
It's pretty simple. Kids learn to drive what their parents drive. Kids drive automatics --- because their parents drive automatics. There is little more to it than that. The vast majority of the car buying public (even more in the good ol' US of A) sees the car is an appliance. Not much different than a toaster. They simply don't want to bother with a manual transmission - which requires a bit more effort and engagement to master. The irony, at least to me anyway, is that it requires a LOT more effort on my part to master new cars' computer/infotainment systems than to learn to use the clutch/gearbox....
Things change. This is one of them. With 8 and 9 speed automatics behind lock-up torque converters or auto-shifted manuals (a la PDK), the efficiency and performance advantage of an old school manual is no longer the benefit it used to be. And the automakers are in business to sell cars. If the public wants automatics (overwhelmingly they do) -- that's what they're going to get.
I was invited to my local BMW dealer last year for an afternoon of food and test driving new models. When I registered they asked what I wanted to drive. My reply was "anything you have with a manual transmission." As my 20-something sales person frantically searched inventory on the computer for a manual transmission car, he thought he had found a 3-series sedan. He sheepishly asked me to accompany him to the back lot with the key -- because he couldn't drive the car to the front. He didn't know how to operate one. Turns out he was mistaken about the inventory - NOT ONE CAR on the BMW lot (over 200 cars) with a manual transmission and a sales person who couldn't drive one. I ate lunch and went home without driving anything shaking my head in sadness. They may have set new car sales records in '13, but they won't sell one to me!
Ian F
UltimaDork
4/9/14 7:05 a.m.
At least MINI waited 3 years to offer an automatic in the Cooper S ('02-04 are manual only).
A few weeks ago, I did a favor for an old high school friend and picked up her son from an event when she couldn't. I asked him if he's looking forward to getting his license in a couple of years (he's 14). He just kinda shrugged, "I guess..." He'll get it as soon as he can because he's a good, responsible kid and knows it will help his mother out a lot if he can drive.
Will he learn stick? Who knows... I know his mother can. She had a number of manual trans cars before having kids and occasionally comments about missing them. When he gets his license I'll offer to teach him in the TDi, which is by far the easiest manual trans car I've ever driven.
1966stang wrote:
Every new car I have bought is a manual.
Now that you mention it, me too. Although I've only bought 3 new cars ever. A '91 CRX si, '94 Integra GS-R, and an '88 Civic LX. The Civic was bought by my wife while we were engaged, so maybe it doesn't count. But the oddest manual trans car I've ever owned was a '92 Legend 4 door. Pretty uncommon car, I hear.
A buddy of mine has a 17 year old that has no intention of getting his. He doesn't care, he'd rather sit at home and play video games with his buddies online--- rather than getting out and exploring life. It's sad, but not all that rare anymore.
If we want to save the stick......we're gonna have to make some enthusiast babies!
