Hyundai Exec: "Nobody Wants Manual Gearboxes Anymore"
I own a car with a manual transmission, and I love it to death, but I understand that the format is nowhere near as popular as it once was. The number of vehicles available with a row-your-own option has dwindled as a result, and many new safety technologies are only offered with an automatic. Despite offering a manual option in the Elantra N, Hyundai’s Managing Director of the Europe Technical Center recently said that “Nobody wants manual gearboxes anymore,” which could be one of the first nails in the transmission’s coffin at the Korean automaker.
Tyrone Johnson made the comment in an interview with Car Magazine, and while it sounds overly dramatic, it’s a reflection of the automaker’s manual transmission sales numbers. Just 30 percent of Elantra N buyers opt for the manual, likely making it an expensive feature to keep in the catalog. Unfortunately, Johnson’s statement is accurate, at least in part. Many people do still want a manual transmission in their vehicles, but technology, safety, and emissions standards are all pushing in the opposite direction.
Johnson isn’t saying performance cars are dead, but he was clear that they’ll be different going forward. “I don’t understand the idea that performance cars are dying. If you want to go fast, there’s nothing better than an EV. I don’t understand the nostalgia,” Johnson said, which will likely upset many of you. He noted that EVs have come a long way in the last ten years, covering as much ground as gas-burning vehicles have in the last 100 years.
[Images: peopleimages.com – yuri a/Shutterstock.com, Vitor Miranda/Shutterstock.com, sigemon/Shutterstock.com]
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Chris grew up in, under, and around cars, but took the long way around to becoming an automotive writer. After a career in technology consulting and a trip through business school, Chris began writing about the automotive industry as a way to reconnect with his passion and get behind the wheel of a new car every week. He focuses on taking complex industry stories and making them digestible by any reader. Just don’t expect him to stay away from high-mileage Porsches.
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The only thing I want more than a manual transmission in a C8 Z06 is a night with mary barra in the trunk of one
I get the gist, but this is the thinking that led to the demise of the convertible in the 1970s. Feared rollover standards were part of it, but it was also the reality that sales were low. So, self fulfilling prophecy: If we don't make any, no one will buy one. Then half a dozen years later, Chrysler offered a ragtop. They were happy for even a small incremental increase in sales. Both my daily driver and the weekend warrior (Fiat Abarth 500c and Camaro for even more fun) are manual soft top cars. I would seem to be the non existent buyer--and that is likely true as neither manufacturer offers a direct replacement. Fortunately for me, Ford still has the row your own droptop Mustang. I have owned three of those over 20 years or so. Drivers that want a stick will seek out that option well into the future.