Sticking with the shifter

As long as they make cars with a manual transmission, that’s how I’ll roll

Cesare, the little Fiat 500 that occupies my carport, is cute, fuel-efficient, powerful for its size and has user-friendly electronics that keep me in touch with its every emotion as well as the outside world.

But the best thing about it - the main reason it’s my car - is because it has a manual transmission.

This is unusual in our America; few of my friends drive stick shifts. My husband, long a loud advocate of “driving” as opposed to “steering,” recently gave up the fight when it became clear that while the Chevy he was interested in was theoretically offered in a five-speed, the dealership couldn’t find one. At least the Chevy people had heard rumors of the five-speed model; a Dodge dealership assured him - incorrectly - that a manual transmission wasn’t an option on the Challenger.

But my streak continues. Every car I’ve owned has had a stick shift. Over the years, I’ve enjoyed piloting a four-speed German-made Opel, got a ticket for somehow doing 94 in a 55-mph zone in an underpowered five-speed Jeep Eagle Summit Wagon, explored the danger zone in a mechanically challenged Datsun 260 Z, and surprised others on the road with the speed and agility of a ferocious 170-hp six-speed Ford SVT Focus that could blow the doors off cars with far more imposing physiques.

There were losers in the lineup as well: A Mazda GLC (which ironically stands for “Great Little Car”) with electrical problems, a rear-wheel-drive Mustang that lumbered like a hippopotamus, a lame Chevy Monza that got rear-ended a lot, and a former boyfriend’s Datsun 2000 that had a perverse love of dying in the middle of multi-lane thoroughfares. I still regard them with some degree of affection.

WHAT GIVES?

When gasoline prices increased and hybrids first became available, I was dismayed to discover that none came with manual transmissions.Why not? I asked in an e-mail to Dan Neil, the Pulitzer Prize-winning automotive writer who was then at the Los Angeles Times (he now writes a car column for The Wall Street Journal). To my shock, he answered me, explaining that most hybrids use continuously variable transmissions that provide better fuel economy and a smoother driving experience than stick shifts or traditional automatics. Being a Dan Neil groupie, I saved it for years.

Since then, the Honda CR-V hybrid changed the game by offering a six-speed manual transmission. So now I have no excuse for not getting a hybrid. Except I got Cesare.

My affinity for manual transmissions is inherited - I learned to drive on my dad’s dramatically designed 1959 Chevrolet Bel Air, equipped with a three-speed on the column. My brother’s passion for muscle cars culminated in a four-speed Oldsmobile 442 that he kept immaculate; his dates learned quickly not to drop a cigarette ash on its spotless carpeting (a trait I share to the point of obsession). Curiously, my sister, who is married to a man enamored of his five vintage Corvettes, never learned to drive a stick, at least not properly.

She doesn’t have to - her Chevy Avalanche is available only as an automatic. And she definitely knows how to drive a truck.

FORGET THE FERRARI

Although there aren’t as many manual transmissions available in the autosphere as there used to be - not a single 2013 Ferrari is available with a clutch - choices are more extensive than you might expect.

Start with subcompacts (Honda Fit, Ford Fiesta, Kia Soul, Mini Cooper). Move into sporty models (Mazda Miata, Audi TT), tough guys (Jeep Wrangler), rear-wheel drive performance rides (Subaru BRZ, Scion FRS, Shelby Mustang, Chevy Camaro) or a Porsche 911 Carrera, BMW 3Series and Cadillac ATS. You might not get the color you want, but you can probably find a model that suits.

Other benefits: Your automatic-limited friends won’t ask to borrow your car. And you might not want to over-indulge during a night on the town, because crawling in the back seat and letting a designated driver take over probably isn’t an option.

So what if the new generations of automatic transmissions get as good or better gas mileage? Who cares that you’ll probably get less money when trading in a car with a stick shift? Does it really matter that sloppy shifters - certainly not you, but they’re out there - can easily ruin their clutches and end up replacing them (minimum cost $1,200)?

None of these downsides disturb me. As long as they’re on the market, I’ll keep driving a car with a manual transmission. I know it will likely be waiting for me wherever it’s parked, because most would be car thieves don’t have the slightest idea how to drive it.

HomeStyle, Pages 27 on 03/30/2013

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