Other developments are undermining the stick. And manual transmissions used to be peppier and more fuel efficient than their automatic counterparts. Now, automatics, governed by sophisticated computers, are burning gas more wisely. Hertz, Avis and National no longer carry cars with manual transmissions. State motor vehicle regulators do not require training in stick shifts, and high school driver education programs do not offer it.
Some driving schools do, but they charge a premium for it.
But by last year, according to Ward's Automotive Reports, manual transmissions accounted for just 8.7 percent of cars made in the United States, down from 12.4 percent in 1996. Now none do. Ten percent of sport utility vehicles have stick shifts, compared with 40 percent of similar vehicles in 1975. Throaty Mustangs, Camaros and Trans Ams, a new Lincoln LS and a Volvo V70 have them. But they have disappeared from popular full-size cars like the Ford Taurus and the Pontiac Bonneville and from all Buicks.