Although manual transmissions are popular among petrolheads, Cadillac apparently felt the need to do some research in order to defend its decision to offer the CT4/5-V Blackwing with a manual transmission.
To do that, it turned to The Harris Poll in October to conduct research on how many Americans know how to row their own gears.
The results find that a large number of Americans surveyed claim they know how to drive stick. According to the study, 55 percent of Americans say they have owned a manual transmission car at some point in their lives. More encouragingly, 66 percent say they know how to use a manual gearbox.
Among people who have owned (or leased) a manual, nearly 30 percent are “very interested” in driving a manual transmission car, though that drops slightly to 27 percent among the larger population of people who know how to drive stick. In both groups, though, 14 percent are “not at all” interested in driving a manual. Moreover, 16 percent of people who have owned and 18 percent of people who know how to drive a stick are “not very interested” in it.
Among people who don’t know how to use a manual gearbox or have never owned a car equipped with one, interest falls precipitously, as between 57 and 61 percent have little to no interest in driving stick.
Also Read: Cadillac Is Making The CT4-V / CT5-V Blackwing’s Manual Gearbox Quieter And More Durable
Among all drivers, though, nearly 60% of people surveyed report having some interest in driving a manual transmission car. What may be critical to Cadillac, though, is that people with a household income of more than $100,000 are more likely to have owned a manual transmission car.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, people who report having owned a manual transmission car tend to be older, with 80% of men over 55 reporting that they have owned a car with a manual transmission at some point. That number falls to 51 percent in men between the ages of 18 and 34, and just 43 percent in men and women in that age range. Curiously, though, it’s the people in that age bracket who report being most interested in driving a manual car.
Although 64 percent of people over the age of 55 have owned a manual in their lives, just 16 percent of them are “very” or “somewhat” interested in driving another. That number jumps to 62 percent among 18-34-year-olds.
They are also the group most likely to say they may buy or lease a new car in the next six months. According to the survey, nearly 60 percent of 18-34-year-olds say they may get a new car while 22 percent of 65-and-older-year-olds are looking for a new car.
However, despite these numbers, take rates for manual transmission cars are abysmal. In 2014, 7 percent of cars sold were manuals. In 2019 that number was down to 2 percent.
Some of that may simply be explained by the lack of options. According to CNBC, just 41 out of 327 new models for sale in 2020 were available with a manual transmission.
Whether that explains the slowing sales or the slowing sales explain the lack of options will doubtless be of great interest to Cadillac, which has committed to selling the CT4-V and CT5-V Blackwing as a manual.
