The death of the 3rd pedal: Less than 20% of American motorists can drive a manual car
You won’t find a manual transmission in any of the fastest new cars on the market. Instead, you’ll find torque converter automatics and lightning-fast dual-clutch applications. You also won’t find better fuel economy figures for the manual option anymore. As such, Americans have all but turned their backs on the third pedal.
The manual car is a dwindling presence in the new car market, as is the number of Americans who can drive them
This year, the venerable Volkswagen Golf GTI bid farewell to the manual transmission. It’s the end of an era, the divorce of a historic nameplate and its typically trusty companion. But it’s just the latest casualty of an ever-shrinking market for new manual cars. Frankly, there’s just not enough interest nowadays.
As of 2016, around 18% of adult American drivers could coax life into a three-pedal vehicle. With the constant improvement of automatic transmissions and CVTs, fewer drivers are opting for the manual, even in sports cars. Lightning-fast, stall-free shifting is available via paddle shifters in many performance favorites. Hell, the eighth-generation Chevrolet Corvette doesn’t even offer a manual.
In an opinion piece, a CNN writer cited that the current American automobile market is a less than hospitable environment for the three-pedal, grab-a-gear driver. In short, less than 1% of new cars in the United States pack a manual gearbox. Instead, the onslaught of CVTs, true automatics, and single-speed EV configurations make up the lion’s share of transmissions.
That figure is down from 35% in 1980, per the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The CNN writer doesn’t just welcome the death of the so-called “stick shift.” No, he applauds it, calling it “overdue” and claiming that manuals exist “to comfort bruised egos.”
However, like wing suits and jet skis, practicality isn’t the point. There’s a connectedness that no other form of driving can provide. Is it impractical compared to a CVT? Sure. But so is riding a horse. It’ll be a sad, sad day when you can’t get your hands on a new manual car with three pedals down low, a gear shift in the middle, and a smiling piece of meat in the seat.
