THERE IS still something transcendental about manually shifting your way through a car's gear box—pulling it into fourth, throwing it into fifth as you control a rumbling machine.
This mighty high has flouted the odds. Over time, many other antiquated auto features have been ruthlessly abandoned—hand-crank starters and windows, carburetors and cassette decks. But stick-shifting has defiantly stuck around, joining ax throwing, rock climbing and ultramarathons as an activity people stubbornly enjoy despite its needless difficulty. Drivers choose to shift because it is an ever-rarer skill that is a challenge to learn and—face it—fun to show off.
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