There's a downshift in stick-driven cars
Local car dealers say the public is rejecting stick-shift vehicles.
YOUNGSTOWN -- The saying "All good things must come to an end" must've been written by an auto mechanic.
Just like the original Model T, the 1962 Chevy Impala and the 1985 Plymouth Duster, the days of the manual transmission, or stick shift, automobile are winding down in the annals of history.
Although not yet extinct, manual transmission cars are in much less demand both nationally and locally.
"There has been a significant decrease in people wanting to buy them each year since I've been here," said John Peluso, sales manager of The Honda Store of Boardman. "In fact, we do not order them any more; we haven't ordered one in three years."
Small percentage: Mark Patrick, curator of the National Automotive History Collection in Detroit, said in a recent Wall Street Journal article that only 10 percent of new cars sold last year were stick-shift operated.
A survey of 10 local dealerships revealed that only about 5 percent of sales the past two or three years have been manual transmission cars.
The huge drop-off is attributed to one thing: the youth of today.
"Young people today do not know how to drive a manual anymore," said Denny Denoi, vice president/general manager of Tony Pesce Chrysler-Dodge Jeep in East Palestine. "Also, automatic cars have been made more affordable with packaged discounts put together by the manufacturers."
Denoi said that 5 percent of his total sales are from stick-shift vehicles, which is on par with both Patterson Chrysler Inc. in Salem and Frederick Dodge in Boardman.
John Omslaer, Patterson general sales manager, and Gary Redmond, Frederick sales manager, noted a general lack of interest in stick-shift cars.
"The kids have grown up trained on automatics," Omslaer said. "They don't know what a stick shift is because of driver training programs.
"We put one out on the lot a few times, and it just sits and sits and sits. ... The men say they want it, but the wife and kids say no," he added. "With multiple family drivers [nowadays], the convenience is toward family cars."
Redmond agrees.
"Most people don't know how [to drive them] because it is inconvenient for them," Redmond said. "There are very few people who like the feel and performance of a manual transmission."
A few markets: Local dealers said most manual transmission vehicles on the road today are 18-wheelers, pickup trucks and sports cars. That seems to be the only market left for stick shifts.
"Usually, people who ask to see stick shifts are teachers or others of the professional nature," said Chip Kissick, Patterson salesman. "Guys in their mid-30s and 40s and 50s love them."
But though there are occasional outbursts of spontaneity, the stick-shift car, for now, remains in danger of being put on life support.
"People that buy cars drive the market," said Jesse Remby, general sales manager of Warren Volvo. "And the market has said it doesn't want stick-shift cars anymore."