Driving manual transmission becoming a lost art

Brooklyn Adams
Editor-in-Chief

It’s got three pedals, five or six gears, and called a manual transmission. Either you knew off the top of your head what a manual vehicle is or you have no idea at all. Since 1894, when the first manual transmission was made, it has been a staple for old and new cars. As technology grows, so does the auto industry which is growing away from manual transmissions. We all know your new Tesla is very popular, but we can’t forget about good ol’ manual transmissions.

The biggest thing about manual transmissions is mastering the clutch. Instead of the car automatically shifting gears as you accelerate, the driver has to push in a clutch, then manually shift gears, then let the clutch back out. If not done right, especially from a complete stop, this can stall the car and cause embarrassment.

“Nobody taught me and it seemed like something I didn’t necessarily need to learn,” senior Avery Robinson said. One of the struggles is trying to find a manual transmission in newer cars as more automatic transmissions are being made.

“All my family members drive automatics and it’s what I was left with,” junior Gavin Johns said. The struggle of finding a manual car strikes again while auto makers are making fewer of them because of the convenience offered by the automatic.

“I started by watching Youtube videos, then begged my brother to let me try and drive his manual car,” senior Brayden Mustion said. Some manual cars have an easier clutch to learn on than others, but mostly it takes lots of practice and time to get the hang of it. 

“It takes lots of practice in parking lots to learn how to drive a manual,” senior Noah Winans said. After a certain point, fluttering the clutch, going from first to second, and getting those rmp’s up will come natural. Most teenagers who learn to drive manual either choose to or parents have them learn in case there is a situation where they would have to drive one.

“My dad wanted to teach me in case there was ever a situation where that was the only car,” senior Skyla Harper said. Not only for certain situations is driving a manual a good thing to know, but there is also some pride in knowing how to drive one.

“I recently bought my new car that was a manual so I could learn,” senior Jaden Meracle said. As auto makers are making fewer manual cars because of the convenience offered by the automatic, we still can’t forget about manual transmissions that are still very common in older cars and a valuable skill to learn.