8/7/2023 0 Comments Used stick shift carsThis next point is also a more subjective one, but overall, it seems that more Europeans find manual cars much more fun and engaging than Americans do. When you’re comfortable driving stick, you’re not used to having a free hand for multitasking. While one could argue that people formed these habits because more Americans drive automatics and more Europeans drive manuals, they certainly are a reason for each group to its preferred driving style. However, the more likely disruption that Americans partake in that Europeans don’t is eating while driving. While this happens in Europe, too, it’s not as common. While it’s not legal in the States, many drivers still text and drive regularly. Europeans Aren’t as Distracted on the Roadįor the next reason why manual transmission cars are still popular in Europe, Europeans are less distracted on the road than Americans. However, since they learned how to drive a manual car, that’s what they’ve grown accustomed to and end up sticking with throughout their life. If you have a manual license, you legally can drive an automatic, but that doesn’t work the other way around.īecause of its versatility, most Europeans try to learn how to drive stick so that they have the option to use an automatic if needed. They have separate permits depending on whether you took the test in a manual or automatic car. In America, when you get your driver’s license, you can drive whatever car you want. Europe’s Licensing Situation Is Different Plus, automatics waste a lot more fuel when going up or down a steep slope, which, as we mentioned, is something many Europeans want to avoid. Having a car that you can manually switch the gears on is essential to these kinds of streets. Because of that, cars need to be more responsive in order to avoid unnecessary crashes. If you’ve ever been to Europe, you’ve probably noticed that their roads are much narrower and have a lot of steep hills, even in the middle of town. Not only is this important because saving fuel saves money, but gas is much more expensive in Europe, so they have even more inspiration not to excessively waste it. Once a person becomes proficient at using a stick, they can save quite a few miles to the gallon (or in their case, liter) while driving. The other major upside is manuals are more fuel-efficient. Plus, if it ever breaks down on them, the cost of parts for these cars is not as expensive as automatics. People who need a car don’t want to spend too much on it, and manuals are a much cheaper up-front purchase. When public transportation is the cheaper and more accessible option, the desire to spend a lot on a personal vehicle begins to diminish. To add to the reasons for Europeans not to own a car, though, the taxes associated with owning a car are much higher for them compared to the States. Even if smaller towns don’t have the best options for travel, they’re usually compact enough that you could easily walk wherever you need to go. That means it’s easier for Europeans to get to all the places they need to go without using a car. Their various forms of public transportation are much better and more abundant than over here. Over in Europe, the pressure to own a car isn’t as high as it is in America. While this first point isn’t a direct reason as to why more cars in Europe are stick-shifts, it will help some of our following points make more sense. Europeans Don’t Care as Much About Driving In fact, there are quite a few reasons why manual transmission cars are still popular in Europe, which is what we plan on covering in this post. While one could argue that this prejudice might have a little to do with it, it’s certainly not the only explanation. Some people like to joke and say that it’s because Europeans are not as lazy as your typical American. A large majority of brand-new cars sold over there are manuals, but why is that? That’s because stick-shifts are still the most popular vehicle of choice in Europe. However, you’ve probably noticed we’ve only mentioned the US when talking about this decline. Some car companies don’t even bother to make them for this country anymore. These days, the number of manual cars is quickly decreasing. Ever since the automatic transmission first became popularized in the 80s, America never looked back. If you still drive a stick-shift vehicle in the States, you are a part of a dying breed.
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