# Would you buy a stickshift car in 2022? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 26, 2022, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-a-stickshift-car-in-2022/966901 "2022-06-26T17:50:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2022, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-a-stickshift-car-in-2022/966901/122 "2022-12-23T17:53:21Z")
My 2022 7-speed manual Bronco: [![](https://cms.thebronconation.com/attachments/dsc_8495-jpeg-t.50350/) ](https://cms.thebronconation.com/attachments/dsc_8495-jpeg-t.50350/) ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2022, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-a-stickshift-car-in-2022/966901/123 "2022-12-24T00:57:22Z")
One of my favorite places in all the world. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2022, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-a-stickshift-car-in-2022/966901/124 "2022-12-25T04:10:10Z")
I’ve never had stick shift, never known how to drive one. Automatics since I got my learner licence. So no, I’ll in answer to the OP, I’ll never buy a stick shift. > [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > [The End of Manual Transmission - The Atlantic](https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2022/08/stick-shift-manual-transmission-cars/671078/) That article did not mean anything to me. It was very odd reading an article about something that obviously meant so much to the writer, but left me completely … uninvolved? unaffected? I could not understand what he was lamenting. For me, no emotional connection whatsoever to the theme of the article. Just very odd. (Not meaning to critique the purpose of this article, just trying to give a different perspective on the issue.) ---
**Author:** ![Kedikat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed655f/32.png) [@Kedikat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kedikat)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2022, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-a-stickshift-car-in-2022/966901/125 "2022-12-25T04:29:51Z")
I can agree that the article could be meaningless to you on that particular subject. But is there something in your life that is analogous? Do you prefer to do something, own something, that others might consider dated? Something that is a bit more labour or mental intensive than a more modern solution? The article went into emotional territory. I prefer a manual transmission for more prosaic reasons. Getting unstuck for instance. But do like automatics for ease of use. I wonder if some vinyl record users have opinions on manual versus automatic? If it seems to skew a particular way? ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2022, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-a-stickshift-car-in-2022/966901/126 "2022-12-25T06:24:16Z")
It’s interesting that this thread popped up on my radar recently. My current rig is a 2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee which I’ve had since buying it new that year. It is my first Jeep product, and after my last car which was a 2001 Honda CR-V (a rare one since it had the 5-MT tranny, BTW) that was so bullet-proof reliable and lasted me 225,000 miles before selling her while she was still running great, I was a little leery about its reliability. It has an automatic transmission, an 8-speed, and mated with the diesel engine it is pretty fuel efficient. I have 137,000 miles on it and plan to drive it until the wheels fall off. I’d love to get 500,000 miles, maybe even 1,000,000 miles. Since I’ve grown to love this Grand Cherokee, I’ve started looking at 1993 models of it — the 1st generation. Only about 1,500 were built with a 5-MT, otherwise all the Grand Cherokees ever sold in the US have automatics through 5 generations now. The 1993 Jeep Grand Cherokee with the 5-MT tranny came with the base engine, the 4.0L straight 6. I’m a fan of straight 6 engines because they have perfect primary and secondary balance, and therefore are very smooth. With this model, everything is basic. Nothing is powered. Window cranks are manual, as are the seat adjustments. To me the **1993 Jeep Grand Cherokee model ZJ** , for 1st-gen, **with 4.0 I6 and 5-MT** is the holy grail of Grand Cherokees. - [![](https://i.imgur.com/7cc4zK3.jpeg) ](https://i.imgur.com/7cc4zK3.jpeg) [[Album] 5 Generations: ZJ 1993, WJ 1999, WK 2005, WK2 2011, WL 2021 ![](https://i.imgur.com/7cc4zK3.jpeg?fb "5 Generations: ZJ 1993, WJ 1999, WK 2005, WK2 2011, WL 2021") ](https://imgur.com/gallery/p5S8zP0) ---
**Author:** ![kk\_fusion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kk_fusion/32/15276_2.png) [@kk\_fusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kk_fusion)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2022, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-a-stickshift-car-in-2022/966901/127 "2022-12-25T17:01:21Z")
I bought a VW T4 in December '21, if that’s close enough. Stick to be sure. ---
**Author:** ![Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tired_and_Cranky)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2022, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-a-stickshift-car-in-2022/966901/128 "2022-12-25T18:37:12Z")
You aren’t the only one who feels that way about those Jeeps. > **[The Holy Grail Of Jeep Grand Cherokees Sits On An Old Wisconsin Dairy Farm,...](https://jalopnik.com/the-holy-grail-of-jeep-grand-cherokees-sits-on-an-old-w-1839010142)** > > What do you do when an extremely rare, but not particularly valuable piece of automotive history is in desperate need of a cash-intensive restoration? > **[Why This 'Holy Grail' Jeep Grand Cherokee Is So Rare And Why I Bought It...](https://jalopnik.com/why-this-holy-grail-jeep-grand-cherokee-is-so-rare-and-1846354856)** > > In Reno, Nevada sits a Jeep so rare that I’m certain it’s the only one of its kind remaining. Not only is the vehicle outfitted with a manual transmission, making it one of roughly 1,500 “holy grail” Jeeps ever built, but it’s also missing the big... > **[This $3,900 'Holy Grail' Jeep Grand Cherokee Was A Hell Of A Deal But I...](https://jalopnik.com/this-3-900-holy-grail-jeep-grand-cherokee-was-a-hell-o-1846278638)** > > The manual transmission “holy grail” Jeep Grand Cherokee is my second favorite Jeep of all time (the Jeep Cherokee XJ is number one), and yet, when a beautiful example popped up for sale 45 minutes from my house, I resisted. And I’m here to tell you... ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2022, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-a-stickshift-car-in-2022/966901/129 "2022-12-25T19:13:25Z")
Stick shift is still the normal here, though auto is becoming more common. Utilities will invariably buy the stick shift model (at one time in the 1990s I remember the one I worked for bought the model without a radio, because they could shave a few pennies off the price that way) ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2022, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-a-stickshift-car-in-2022/966901/130 "2022-12-26T04:48:12Z")
Wow I had no idea. I read an article about it and put it on my search list. I didn’t know there was some GCs out there with manual trannies. Would be fun to test drive one! ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2022, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-a-stickshift-car-in-2022/966901/131 "2022-12-30T03:27:14Z")
Another fun fact: Chrysler actually offered the first and second generation Caravan/Voyager with a manual transmission. They too were pretty uncommon. I suspect they offered mostly just because it was the norm in the 1980s and early 90s for most vehicles to have a manual transmission on the base model, with luxury cars being the exception. > **[This $3,500 Low-Mileage First Gen Chrysler Minivan Has A Manual Transmission...](https://jalopnik.com/this-3-500-low-mileage-first-gen-chrysler-minivan-has-1840613539)** > > My love for the first-generation Chrysler minivan reached new heights when I laid eyes on this perfect, manual, red-on-red 1986 model for sale on Facebook Marketplace for only $3,500. Just look at this sliding-door-having 1980s human-hauler, and... > **[I Just Bought A $600 Diesel Manual Chrysler Minivan But It Has 250,000 Miles...](https://jalopnik.com/i-just-bought-a-600-diesel-manual-chrysler-minivan-but-1844601460)** > > I’m flying to Germany today to prepare a $600 Chrysler Voyager (manual, diesel!) to act as a mobile apartment for a month-long, car-themed road trip through Europe. The second-gen Chrysler minivan, which I bought sight unseen, doesn’t run; it’s... ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2022, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-a-stickshift-car-in-2022/966901/132 "2022-12-30T03:44:30Z")
They may have been trying to appeal to people who had previously driven Volkswagen vans, which were typically manual. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2022, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-a-stickshift-car-in-2022/966901/133 "2022-12-30T06:51:31Z")
Interestingly I have heard that the reason Chrysler felt it was acceptable to put a four cylinder engine in those vans for the first few years\*, which of course made them extremally slow, was because they figured it’s only real competition was the VW Vanagon, which was even slower. \*The V6 wasn’t available until around '87. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Librarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_librarian/32/402_2.png) [@The\_Librarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Librarian)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2022, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-a-stickshift-car-in-2022/966901/134 "2022-12-30T12:20:04Z")
I have always have driven manuals (until I got an EV). The times I’ve driven an automatic (mostly rentals) I always felt out of control driving in hilly/mountainous terrain. How are you supposed to control the speed in an automatic driving up or down a mountain? You approach a turn, release the gas: and the thing shifts UP : you brake, go through the turn, hit the gas : wait for the thing to realize it is in a totally inappropriate gear, wait for the gearshift : and we’re moving again. What am I doing wrong? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2022, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-a-stickshift-car-in-2022/966901/135 "2022-12-30T12:39:29Z")
> [@The\_Librarian](#): > > What am I doing wrong? Driving an automatic. ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2022, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-a-stickshift-car-in-2022/966901/136 "2022-12-30T13:05:30Z")
Never driven one, but I believe most automatics (well, in the last 30 or 40 years) have a mode exactly for this - you move the lever past “D” into “3”, “2”, or “1” as needed, and it will hold the chosen gear rather than shifting. This allows you to control things better in the conditions you describe. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2022, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-a-stickshift-car-in-2022/966901/137 "2022-12-30T14:55:22Z")
It varies by model. Some automatics have gear selections that limit the top gear, i.e. selecting ‘2’ may mean no higher than 2nd gear (will automatically switch between 1st and 2nd only). Others fix the gear. And still other, more modern, models have options to allow you to upshift or downshift by a gear (+/-) while you are driving, either on the stick or paddle shifters. Sometimes these are true shifts but other times, it’s still a limit on the top gear. YMMV, literally ---
**Author:** ![Sooner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sooner/32/7875_2.png) [@Sooner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sooner)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2022, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-a-stickshift-car-in-2022/966901/138 "2022-12-30T15:46:49Z")
Most of my vehicles have been manuals, I just prefer the extra level of control it gives. And it has saved me about $1,000 per car. It has become so ingrained I don’t think about it, even in stop and go traffic. Pinto Wagon was a 4 speed stick Then 2 automatics Ford Ranger was a 4 speed stick Honda Civic was a 5 speed stick Honda Accord was a 5 speed stick Toyota MR2 was a sequential 6 speed manual - that did take some getting used to. Kia Spectra 5 was a 5 speed stick Honda Fit was a 6 speed stick - had to go well out of my way to find one VW GTI is a six speed stick - 40% of GTIs sold are manual But that my be the end of the line, if something happened to my GTI; I think I would go with the new Prius prime ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2022, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-a-stickshift-car-in-2022/966901/139 "2022-12-30T18:11:04Z")
For very hilly roads, that’s what gears like 1 or 2 or even 3 (depends on car) help with. Or many cars these, as mentioned above, will have a manual selector if you knock the stick either to the left or right or D, and then you can shift up and down manually. Or you can slam the throttle all the way down to get it to downshift on all automatics (at least that I know.) Some call this a “passing gear” but there is no separate gear—it’s a forced downshift. Still takes a second (or less) to engage. I much prefer hills in a manual, but even basic automatics are fine with me. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2022, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-a-stickshift-car-in-2022/966901/140 "2022-12-30T18:31:47Z")
That’s what I was thinking too. I learned to drive a stick on one, a 1975 VW Microbus just like this one. [[Album] 1975 VW Microbus ![](https://i.imgur.com/uxEBH5b.jpeg?fb "1975 VW Microbus") ](https://imgur.com/gallery/hjEOz7q) ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2022, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-a-stickshift-car-in-2022/966901/141 "2022-12-30T18:31:51Z")
I found that my new Bronco has almost no engine braking. The turbo 4 cylinder engine makes a lot of power, but doesn’t slow the truck very much going down hills, even in 3rd gear. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-a-stickshift-car-in-2022/966901.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-a-stickshift-car-in-2022/966901.md?page=8)