"... the subtle evil that is the automatic transmission" - article
 

World must look pretty small from up there on that high horse.

If you want to lament the lost art of driving, try a Ford Model T sometime. I'm sure an old man from the 1940's would have been horrified the first time he sat down in a car with only three pedals, one gearshift and a steering wheel.

"Those kids and their newfangled driving machines!"

I'd say his attitude is that of an elitist. That's a horrible way to try and sell people on the merits of manual transmissions.

To this day you can still buy a brand new lawnmower with manual choke and manual gears. But if you want a new car with a manual transmission, forget about it. Most cars here don't even offer it and the few that still do are only stock in small quantities. If I wanted a sedan the only real option would be to get a Civic Si. At least those are fairly common here. Anything else I'd have to custom order.

I wonder if this guy has ever driven any of the new supercars with paddle-shifted manuals, no clutch pedal, and programming allowing you to flat foot shift. They only have two pedals, and how much skill does it take to flip a lever and shift to the next gear?

Or a column-shifted manual. He wants to say the old way is so much better? Then at least pick something that is no longer commercially available.

WRX.