Some younger drivers relish the idea of stick shifting

Part way into the 21^st Century, obsolescence isn’t what it used to be, especially in the minds of younger consumers; consider the renaissance of vinyl records and film cameras. To that list, add the automobile’s stick shift.

Manual transmissions are no longer just about lower car purchase prices, better fuel economy or more control on the road. They’re about being hip. At least, that’s part of the thesis offered in a recent article in The Wall Street Journal.

“The 20-Somethings Fueling a Stick-Shift Renaissance”  examines a modest but real resurgence in the sales upticks of manual-equipped cars, and focuses on the enthusiasm of younger people to acquire them, and the challenges—no longer so challenging—of learning bow to drive them.

But, as readers of Autoblog have learned in recent years,, the future of manuals, as author Rachel Wolfe succinctly points out in the Journal piece, is essentially doomed in the longer term. Blame the electric vehicle.

She writes that car makers sold 43 different manual models in 2022, according to J.D. Power, compared with 69 in 2019. “While a few EVs do have more than one gear,” she says, “auto makers are still figuring out how to translate the experience of maneuvering a manual to their electric car lineups. ‘’