For those of you who read my columns regularly (thank you), you're aware I usually stick to politics.

I'm going to shift gears for this one. Literally.

I recently came across this headline in The Washington Post: “The death of the stick shift is almost here.” It wasn't completely news. I've noticed the dearth of manual transmissions in newer vehicles for years. But I'd hoped there was enough demand left that it wouldn't disappear.

According to a 2025 Environmental Protection Agency report on automotive trends, less than 1% of new vehicles made for the U.S. market are manual transmissions. In 1980, roughly 35% were. Europeans remain more attached to the stick shift, but even there, demand is fading.

Stick shifts are dying. And I don't think it's just electric vehicles or autonomous features driving this. It's that more of us have started........

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