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Not long ago, you could find countless articles lamenting the slow-but-inevitable demise of the manual transmission. But according to J.D. Power, sales have nearly doubled since 2021. Why?
As you might’ve guessed, Gen Z came through in the “clutch.” And the more you think about it, their love affair with a third pedal makes sense; manuals are fun, cheap, counterculture and can’t be taken away from them via software updates. In a way, it’s their equivalent of Gen Y’s penchant for record players.
Plus, as single-gear EVs start dominating the market, the appeal of rowing your own mechanical gears intensifies.
– Chris Butsch, The Arizona 100