Stick shifts and safety belts...being a radio guy- you know I had to find a good song to go with this story. This one was kind of a piece of Cake.

I don't know how we got to talking about this, but how many of you truly enjoy cars with a manual transmission- with a stick shift? How many of you grew up learning how to drive on a stick shift?

Isn't it crazy how little we see if new vehicles that are manual transmission vehicles anymore (unless we're out on the farm or ranch)?

I remember when my grandma taught me how to drive a manual transmission in Glasgow, Montana. She took me out on the dirt road near the Glasgow Scotties High School in a little red Ford Ranger pickup that my aunt and uncle let us use. My wife grew up in Missoula, and she learned how to drive in the late 90s with a manual transmission.

To reference the Cake song once again- safety belts are everywhere now, but what happened to the stick shifts?

I even tried doing a quick search about trying to buy a new car in a manual transmission. A simple internet search pulled up a whole bunch of car news websites like this 2023 article from CarAndDriver.com: Every New Car You Can Still Buy with a Manual Transmission

Acuras, BMWs, Chevys and Cadillacs all came up in that story, along with several Jeeps and SUVs. But they warned that stick shifts are a "dying breed."

MotorTrend.com has a 2024 list available here.

A simple search also pulled up this Subaru Crosstrek from Gallatin Subaru, available in manual transmission. Billion Auto Group also allows you to search specifically for manual transmission vehicles. I'll bet my buddy Tony at Denny Menholt could also find me a list of manual vehicles. And- I'll bet we have several great readers/listeners in the auto industry. Send us your tips on the app, or e-mail aaron (at) montanatalks.com

 

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Gallery Credit: Angela Underwood

 

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