In [_The death of the stick shift is almost here_](https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2026/07/17/death-stick-shift-is-almost-here/), Todd C. Frankel writes about the disappearance of manual transmissions from American roads.

> “It’s a dying skill.”

That is exactly why I want my children’s first cars to have standard transmissions.

Learning to drive a stick requires you to be present. You have to listen to the engine, feel what the car is doing, think ahead, and coordinate your movements. You are not just pointing the car and pressing a pedal. You are learning how the machine responds to you.

They will probably spend most of their lives driving automatics or electric vehicles, and that is fine. But I want their first experience behind the wheel to teach them to actively drive the car rather than simply operate it.

There is also a small practical advantage: fewer people know how to drive a manual anymore, including some would-be car thieves.

Once my kids can drive a stick, they can drive almost anything.

Read Todd C. Frankel’s full article, [_The death of the stick shift is almost here_](https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2026/07/17/death-stick-shift-is-almost-here/).

In <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2026/07/17/death-stick-shift-is-almost-here/">The death of the stick shift is almost here</a>, Todd C. Frankel writes about the disappearance of manual transmissions from American roads.
<blockquote>
“It’s a dying skill.”
</blockquote>
That is exactly why I want my children’s first cars to have standard transmissions.
Learning to drive a stick requires you to be present. You have to listen to the engine, feel what the car is doing, think ahead, and coordinate your movements. You are not just pointing the car and pressing a pedal. You are learning how the machine responds to you.
They will probably spend most of their lives driving automatics or electric vehicles, and that is fine. But I want their first experience behind the wheel to teach them to actively drive the car rather than simply operate it.
There is also a small practical advantage: fewer people know how to drive a manual anymore, including some would-be car thieves.
Once my kids can drive a stick, they can drive almost anything.
Read Todd C. Frankel’s full article, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2026/07/17/death-stick-shift-is-almost-here/">The death of the stick shift is almost here</a>.

In [_The death of the stick shift is almost here_](https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2026/07/17/death-stick-shift-is-almost-here/), Todd C. Frankel writes about the disappearance of manual transmissions from American roads.

_The death of the stick shift is almost here_

The death of the stick shift is almost here

, Todd C. Frankel writes about the disappearance of manual transmissions from American roads.

That is exactly why I want my children’s first cars to have standard transmissions.

Learning to drive a stick requires you to be present. You have to listen to the engine, feel what the car is doing, think ahead, and coordinate your movements. You are not just pointing the car and pressing a pedal. You are learning how the machine responds to you.

They will probably spend most of their lives driving automatics or electric vehicles, and that is fine. But I want their first experience behind the wheel to teach them to actively drive the car rather than simply operate it.

There is also a small practical advantage: fewer people know how to drive a manual anymore, including some would-be car thieves.

Once my kids can drive a stick, they can drive almost anything.

Read Todd C. Frankel’s full article, [_The death of the stick shift is almost here_](https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2026/07/17/death-stick-shift-is-almost-here/).

Todd C. Frankel reports on the near-disappearance of manual transmissions. I want my kids' first cars to be sticks — so they learn to actively drive a machine, not just operate it.