Stick Shift in 2026?

[JeepHead]

My wife was exactly the same, for the first several years. Then two mutual friends, both women, convinced her that the only way she'd learn is by having her own car in manual. So when it came time to trade in her next car, we went manual, a cute little sporty red Audi A3 hatch back.

It made for a rough few weeks of commuting, but she got over the hump pretty quickly, and then fell in love with it. From then, on until you just couldn't get manual anymore, she only wanted manual in all of her cars.

There are plenty of vehicles that are still available with a MT.

Still Want to Row Your Own Gears? These Cars Are Keeping the Manual Transmission Alive

These automakers—including Porsche, BMW, Mazda, Honda, and more—are saving the manuals, one performance car at a time.

www.roadandtrack.com

 

[WinterDeere]

There are plenty of vehicles that are still available with a MT.

Still Want to Row Your Own Gears? These Cars Are Keeping the Manual Transmission Alive

These automakers—including Porsche, BMW, Mazda, Honda, and more—are saving the manuals, one performance car at a time.

www.roadandtrack.com

I assume your dry humor is applied liberally, there. We aren't carting kids and friends to activities in a Porsche 718 Boxter or a Lotus Emira.

We currently have an SUV, a 1/2 ton pickup, a full-size sedan, and a hatchback. Of these four platforms, only the hatchback has reasonable options in manual transmission.

If you skip down to smaller coupes and hatchbacks, then the field does open up a bit. But even there, choices are very limited compared to 20 years ago.

 

[dfkrug]

There are plenty of vehicles that are still available with a MT.

Interesting list.

One notable is the Hyundai Elantra N (4-cyl turbo 300hp 6M FWD), a rather mundane compact sedan. I was treated to a few laps around Laguna Seca in a new Elantra N with a young professional driver at the wheel. That was fun for me as the driver tried to scare me at 10 tenths around the track. (Didn't work.)

The Veloster N has the same drive train and lower weight, but no manual trans.

 

[2manyrocks]

When I was looking for a new economy car over the past couple of years, seemed like even Toyota and Nissan were only offering CVT transmissions in their lower lines. However, I was able to find a used 2025 Nissan Versa with a manual transmission. Apparently, they've now dropped the MT as an option.

Wife's 2024 Jetta came with a nice 8 speed auto. But otherwise, I kept running into CVTs in most everything else.

 

[4570Man]

My old dump truck that my brother owns now blew the slave cylinder out. That’s the 3rd time I’ve had that exact problem happen. Once before on that truck and once on my F-750 that I used to have. That repair isn’t very hard or expensive but the truck still has to be pulled out of the road on a chain.

 

[ultrarunner]

I don't downshift when coming to a stop unless I actually need it for engine braking, i.e., snow/ice. When coming to a stop at a light, I always let the car roll to as slow as is possible in whatever gear I'm in without the engine starting to lug, then clutch to neutral. I always go to neutral and leave it there when waiting for the light because I believe it saves wear on the throwout bearing. If I can see the light for cross traffic, I put it in first when their light is yellow so I can be ready to go. If I can't see it, I just take my best guess at when I think it will change.

By the way, this is why public works installing devices on traffic lights intended to prevent you from being able to see what the cross-traffic light is showing is a pet peeve of mine.

If I'm coming up to a stop sign, I always wait until I'm stopped to go to first. Several reasons for this. First, I learned to drive in cars with no synchro on first gear, so unless you wanted to trash first gear and hear a lot of noise, you had to. Second, for cars WITH synchro on first, I like to be as easy on the synchro as possible, so that means shifting when stopped. Third, in every manual I've ever driven, first gear synchro is not as strong as the synchro for other gears, so they can still crunch if you try to shift to first when going too fast and I don't want to feel or hear it or be hard on the car.

For turns, it just depends on how much I need to slow for the turn and how I am driving (performance-fun/normal). If I only need to slow a little and not trying to wring performance out of the car, I will leave it in the same gear and just ease out of the turn, lugging as little as necessary. If I can't leave it in high gear, I will just wing it and pick the best gear for the engine/road speed when coming out of the corner without slipping the clutch and just let the synchro do it's thing.

However, if I'm looking for performance, I will heel/toe and rev match the down shift (or use the electronic rev-matching feature on the fancy new car) so I can be ready to pull as hard as I need to in the lower gear coming out of the turn.

Just a note on saving the clutch as much as possible: When I am accelerating from a stop, I try to release the clutch pedal completely while using the minimum amount of throttle necessary to get the car rolling. In some cases (like starting off going down hill) that means NO throttle at all. I let the car start rolling, by gravity, THEN release the clutch quickly, with no slipping whatsoever. Starting off in any other condition is just whatever variation of that technique I can do with as little clutch slippage as possible.

Going up through the gears is just a continuation of that: accelerate, clutch, let revs match road speed for next gear, then shift/let clucth out completely with NO slippage. This takes practice to do smoothly, but will make your clutch last a long time.

You guys have syncro transmissions?

Almost none of my cars have syncro and they all shift a little different… weight of the gear oil makes a big difference… nothing like a quart of 600w to make an old transmission shift like it should…

 

[ultrarunner]

I think success in teaching driving a manual is directly related to the desire of the student to learn. By the time I first drove a manual, I already knew how to do it because I had been observing how it's done and visualizing myself doing it for years. Same with flying a plane.

The only person I've ever tried to teach to drive a manual is my wife. She decided after about 20 seconds that she really didn't want to learn. I asked her what she would do if we were in my car in the middle of nowhere and I had a medical emergency and couldn't drive. She said I'd just have to wait for the ambulance or hearse.

However, I actually think she has learned enough by osmosis that she could do it if she had to....

I think if I ever tried to teach anyone else, the first thing I'd do is take them to a flat parking lot and let them practice starting the car moving by letting out the clutch without touching the gas or killing the engine.

I taught all the kids around 11-12 at the farm with my 4wd F150 with 5spd and 300 six cylinder…

The quickest method was to use compound low… just to get the feel for the clutch and gas pedal…

 

[goeduck]

I was told by a seasoned mechanic about 10 years ago that clutch transmissions today are not what they were 20 or 30 so years ago. Not as much research, not as much testing, not as much thought, not as much space ..... I switched to automatic a number of years ago. No that I could buy one today anyway.

 

[WinterDeere]

You guys have syncro transmissions?

Almost none of my cars have syncro and they all shift a little different… weight of the gear oil makes a big difference… nothing like a quart of 600w to make an old transmission shift like it should…

Owning or driving a non-synchro vehicle is one of my weird old guy bucket list items. I learned to play the bagpipes over the last 5 years, so maybe it's time to tackle non-synchromatic transmissions, next.

 

[ultrarunner]

Owning or driving a non-synchro vehicle is one of my weird old guy bucket list items. I learned to play the bagpipes over the last 5 years, so maybe it's time to tackle non-synchromatic transmissions, next.

Lots of them out there… I learned double clutch on a VW circa 1950’s and then gots miles of practice mostly with Model A Fords.

 

[redman135]

WinterDeere, look at an old school truck (class 7 or 8)with a roadranger gearbox. You have a choice of 9,13,15,and 18sp units.

 

[Runner]

I could watch these videos all day.

Maybe some truckers on here can comment on this, but I have not been able to figure out how/why some truckers "float" gears like the above video, but others use the clutch, like this guy:

I've read arguments both ways, i.e., it doesn't really hurt them to float gears if you do it right and others say it does. Seems like even when experts are floating gears, there is always a little grinding, but the guy in the second video using the clutch has no grinding whatsoever.

Just don't know.

 

[WinterDeere]

Grayce, the Queen of double-clutching:

 

[ultrarunner]

I could watch these videos all day.

Maybe some truckers on here can comment on this, but I have not been able to figure out how/why some truckers "float" gears like the above video, but others use the clutch, like this guy:

I've read arguments both ways, i.e., it doesn't really hurt them to float gears if you do it right and others say it does. Seems like even when experts are floating gears, there is always a little grinding, but the guy in the second video using the clutch has no grinding whatsoever.

Just don't know.

Becoming one with the machine… I went with an owner operator years ago and some incredible miles on his Peterbilt original clutch and he showded me shifting without using the clutch.

He also said owner operators tend to be easier on equipment as every repair comes out or their pocket.

 

[WinterDeere]

Becoming one with the machine… I went with an owner operator years ago and some incredible miles on his Peterbilt original clutch and he show me shifting without using the clutch.

He also said owner er operators tend to be easier on equipment as every repair comes out or their pocket.

A buddy of mine in highschool joined his father's trucking business, and I remember they also used to shift without clutching. Always told me clutch was only for stopping and starting.

 

[4570Man]

I could watch these videos all day.

Maybe some truckers on here can comment on this, but I have not been able to figure out how/why some truckers "float" gears like the above video, but others use the clutch, like this guy:

I've read arguments both ways, i.e., it doesn't really hurt them to float gears if you do it right and others say it does. Seems like even when experts are floating gears, there is always a little grinding, but the guy in the second video using the clutch has no grinding whatsoever.

Just don't know.

A pickup has synchronized gears. The synchronizers are made of brass and they’re not that durable. They’re made to adjust the gears speed not the whole vehicle speed. You shouldn’t float shift a pickup. If you were super good at it, it would be alright but anything less than that is rapidly eating the synchronizers. A semi doesn’t have synchronizers. I’ve heard that European built trucks do but I’ve never seen an American truck that did. Double clutching is way too much effort. I don’t know anyone that drives like that.

 

[QRTRHRS]

Big trucks have a clutch brake. When you do use the clutch, you do not push it to the floor. That is only done when coming to a full stop to reduce the torque load. It's not uncommon to put the transmission in neutral while say waiting on a stoplight to avoid holding the clutch pedal to the floor. When you hear grinding when the driver puts the trans back in gear it is because they rushed it or the clutch brake is getting worn.

I have driven million mile trucks with the original transmission, likely with a lot of clutchless shifting. I would often drop into neutral as I rolled to a stop at a light. I mostly used the clutch while upshifting as I gained speed topping a hill due to the high torque load on the transmission. On a more level area, pretty much as soon as you let off of the throttle, the torque load drops off and you can execute your shift.

I recall the hardest truck to shift without some grinding was an old B Model Mack with a 5x3. We used to call it the stone crusher.

All of that said, a truck with a so called "high torque rise" or "constant torque" engine was a different animal. I would have to look up as to when they came about. Maybe the mid or late 60's to the mid 70's? Typically five speed transmissions, the torque range was ~2,200 down to ~1,200 rpm's. Forget up shifting on a hill. Once you got to the lowest gear that would get you up a hill, you were stuck there. Emission issues killed the concept.

The thing with shifting them was that you had to let the rpm's drop to the bottom end before you made your shift. Then they were easier to mesh up with the use of the clutch. In other threads, I mentioned driving a 74' Diamond Reo tri-axle with a 270hp Cummins high torque rise coupled to a seven speed spicer transmission. I could drag the rpm's down with the Jake brake to allow for clutchless shifting.

LOL, that company was loosing ground so I was looking for greener pastures. The good old boys club being what it was, word got back and I got fired. They put someone in that truck whom blew the transmission out the first day. I went to work the next day for a competer.

Speaking of using an engine brake to shift, it's not uncommon to hear some gear jockey engine braking to make quicker shifts. Most of the time, that creates excess noise which I find annoying. It is helpful on a hill to drop the engine RPM's down to make upshifts (but still sometimes necessitating using the clutch).

Runner, thanks for posting those cool video's. Something to note on the second video is when he starts the engine. Note the sound as it first turns over. That's the manuel compression release which allows the engine to turn over easier when cold starting. I only ever drove one. It was an old White with a 220 Cummins.

 

[Runner]

Big trucks have a clutch brake. When you do use the clutch, you do not push it to the floor. That is only done when coming to a full stop to reduce the torque load. It's not uncommon to put the transmission in neutral while say waiting on a stoplight to avoid holding the clutch pedal to the floor. When you hear grinding when the driver puts the trans back in gear it is because they rushed it or the clutch brake is getting worn.

I have driven million mile trucks with the original transmission, likely with a lot of clutchless shifting. I would often drop into neutral as I rolled to a stop at a light. I mostly used the clutch while upshifting as I gained speed topping a hill due to the high torque load on the transmission. On a more level area, pretty much as soon as you let off of the throttle, the torque load drops off and you can execute your shift.

I recall the hardest truck to shift without some grinding was an old B Model Mack with a 5x3. We used to call it the stone crusher.

All of that said, a truck with a so called "high torque rise" or "constant torque" engine was a different animal. I would have to look up as to when they came about. Maybe the mid or late 60's to the mid 70's? Typically five speed transmissions, the torque range was ~2,200 down to ~1,200 rpm's. Forget up shifting on a hill. Once you got to the lowest gear that would get you up a hill, you were stuck there. Emission issues killed the concept.

The thing with shifting them was that you had to let the rpm's drop to the bottom end before you made your shift. Then they were easier to mesh up with the use of the clutch. In other threads, I mentioned driving a 74' Diamond Reo tri-axle with a 270hp Cummins high torque rise coupled to a seven speed spicer transmission. I could drag the rpm's down with the Jake brake to allow for clutchless shifting.

LOL, that company was loosing ground so I was looking for greener pastures. The good old boys club being what it was, word got back and I got fired. They put someone in that truck whom blew the transmission out the first day. I went to work the next day for a competer.

Speaking of using an engine brake to shift, it's not uncommon to hear some gear jockey engine braking to make quicker shifts. Most of the time, that creates excess noise which I find annoying. It is helpful on a hill to drop the engine RPM's down to make upshifts (but still sometimes necessitating using the clutch).

Runner, thanks for posting those cool video's. Something to note on the second video is when he starts the engine. Note the sound as it first turns over. That's the manuel compression release which allows the engine to turn over easier when cold starting. I only ever drove one. It was an old White with a 220 Cummins.

Thanks for that information. Love to hear that kind of inside stuff from experienced people.

I thought it was interesting at the end of the video on the 49 Kenworth, when the owner said that the truck was pretty much topped-out at 25mph and that, if it was actually towing a load, it probably would have been doing about 5mph in first gear. I suppose a turbo charger might make some difference.

 

[ultrarunner]

A pickup has synchronized gears. The synchronizers are made of brass and they’re not that durable. They’re made to adjust the gears speed not the whole vehicle speed. You shouldn’t float shift a pickup. If you were super good at it, it would be alright but anything less than that is rapidly eating the synchronizers. A semi doesn’t have synchronizers. I’ve heard that European built trucks do but I’ve never seen an American truck that did. Double clutching is way too much effort. I don’t know anyone that drives like that.

The hills of SF where very steep grades required precision shifts…

I use to see popped u-joints and dropped driveshafts often in SF… even near me those old loaded dump trucks would struggle.