The end of shifting your own gears, by CJ Wilson: Motoramic Experts

CJ Wilson is a star Major League pitcher for the L.A. Angels. In his spare time, he races cars and owns his own race team (CJ Wilson Racing), using it as a platform to benefit his charity work. Wilson has always been a car guy, practically owning every Porsche on the market — including a rare Carrera GT — as well as recently purchasing one of the fastest production cars of all-time, the new McLaren P1. In his first column as a Motoramic Expert, Wilson talks about the death of the manual transmission and an upcoming electric world. - Ed

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Time marches on and so does technology.

I'm not old enough to remember the lamentations of early drivers as the wooden wheel got phased out, nor the steam boiler, nor the rumble seat. And as such, I'm not quite old enough to remember the good ol' days my dad talks about with 10 cent gasoline, '57 Bel Air fins, and drive-in theaters. Today however, the gasoline engine is clearly in the twilight of its career (because good cars have soul--if you believe like I do) and the manual transmission has long begun the descent into the nether.

For a large majority of drivers, this is merely a convenience, as it is easier to plug in your car to a wall than to fill it up at a pump, and easier to let the car sort the gears out itself as opposed to exercising your left leg. But I'll admit to being an enthusiast, and logic isn't always top priority.

The Motoramic Experts series features insights from some of the most talented people in the automotive realm.

My name is CJ Wilson. Outside of my day job as pitcher for the LA Angels, I race cars. I own a race team. More to the point, I simply love to drive.