Fewer than 3% of cars sold in the U.S. have manual transmissions
Holy crap, I didn&#x27;t realise it was quite like that. I knew it was rare for people to know manual transmissions but why such a preference for automatic?<p>In Australia pretty much everyone I know can drive manual, most cars come with the option and most cheaper cars are manual. It was somewhat of a masculinity thing too, and still is according to my younger siblings.<p>To be honest I&#x27;m surprised the most that America doesn&#x27;t have that same psuedo masculinity requirement thing happening. I am not saying it&#x27;s good to have, just that I am surprised it&#x27;s not there.<p>As far as myself, I have always much preferred manual and find myself utterly disillusioned with automatics. No engine braking so you&#x27;re constantly between pedals, gearbox never in the best gear because it can&#x27;t predict your actions, and they make even the nicest motors sound like droning slugs.<p>Even if you don&#x27;t intend to go racing, a manual is just a bit more interesting and keeps you paying attention the whole trip, in my experience at least.