If you visit the local car dealership today, you will probably discover that only a few of the vehicles in the lot have manual transmissions. A few decades ago, the exact opposite was true; manual cars dominated the market, while automatic vehicles were the minority. If you’re wondering what brought about this drastic change, here are some general reasons why the presence of manual transmissions is slowly fading.

What Are Some of the Factors Affecting the Transmission Market?

In the past, every car dealership owed the majority of its earnings to manual vehicle sales. These days, almost all buyers prefer automatics over manual transmissions, making it more profitable for sellers to put the former on sale. Here are some of the factors that contribute to this transmission market trend:

• Ability: The number of drivers who actually know how to drive manually is significantly dwindling. If buyers don’t know how to drive a stick shift, it’s unlikely that they will spend thousands of dollars on a manual car that they can’t even operate.
• Efficiency: Carmakers have now made it possible for automatic vehicles to be as fuel-efficient as manual ones, if not better. Also, automatic transmissions possess impressive modern features, such as advanced drive modes and adaptive cruise control.
• Cost: Car manufacturers are now finding it more costly to develop both automatic and manual vehicles. With the declining car dealership sales of manual transmissions, automakers have begun to focus on the production of automatics only.
• Comfort: Automatic cars offer the latest when it comes to comfort and convenience. With traffic worsening each day, drivers are inclined to choose the transmission that’s less stressful to use on the road.

Why Are Automatic Transmissions More Fuel Efficient Than Manuals?

Historically, the manual transmission has always been the clear winner for gas mileage. However, technological advancements enabled the automatic transmission to take the lead in this department. For example, a continuously variable transmission (CVT) is capable of going through an unlimited number of gear ratios to continually modify the power transmitted to the wheels. Compared to the technology of using gears to control the amount of torque and power sent to the engine, a CVT effectively keeps the car in the most fuel-efficient state. In short, the computer does the job of automatically shifting into a gear that saves the most fuel.

Rokstad Ford in Ponderay, ID, offers an extensive inventory of new and pre-owned cars, trucks, and SUVs. This top-rated car dealership is proud of its honest and efficient service that makes purchasing the ideal vehicle a breeze. Give them a call today at (208) 263-3127 to speak with a knowledgeable representative, or visit their website to view their selection of pre-owned vehicles.