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<blockquote data-quote="Mr. Wolf" data-source="post: 1291954" data-attributes="member: 8367">As with a lot of things in modern life, government regulations are killing the manual transmission (although it would die out even without the feds).&nbsp; The U.S. govt. requires that automakers test and certify all vehicles for emissions, and if a vehicle is offered with both manual and automatic transmission, then each version must be separately certified.&nbsp; The entire process is fairly expensive, so for many vehicles it just doesn't make sense to pay for the certification process for the manual transmission, now that almost no one wants a manual shift.&nbsp; Even Porsche is limiting the availability of manual transmissions for this reason.I'm old, as are my sensibilities, but I just don't fully respect someone's driving skills unless they can drive stick, and do it well.&nbsp; That said, I tried teaching my wife a few years ago and it was a nightmare.&nbsp; She just could not come to terms with the gentle but quick, progressive release of the clutch at its friction point.&nbsp; She treated the clutch like a digital function, all on or all off.My neighbor bought his teenage son an old Corolla with stick, because he didn't want him texting while driving.&nbsp; Now the kid drives really well.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Mr. Wolf, post: 1291954, member: 8367"] As with a lot of things in modern life, government regulations are killing the manual transmission (although it would die out even without the feds). The U.S. govt. requires that automakers test and certify all vehicles for emissions, and if a vehicle is offered with both manual and automatic transmission, then each version must be separately certified. The entire process is fairly expensive, so for many vehicles it just doesn't make sense to pay for the certification process for the manual transmission, now that almost no one wants a manual shift. Even Porsche is limiting the availability of manual transmissions for this reason. I'm old, as are my sensibilities, but I just don't fully respect someone's driving skills unless they can drive stick, and do it well. That said, I tried teaching my wife a few years ago and it was a nightmare. She just could not come to terms with the gentle but quick, progressive release of the clutch at its friction point. She treated the clutch like a digital function, all on or all off. My neighbor bought his teenage son an old Corolla with stick, because he didn't want him texting while driving. Now the kid drives really well. [/QUOTE]

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