Why is it that as soon as I have discovered manual transmissions they are going away? Seriously, has someone been following me around, waiting until I decided that a good ol’ standard transmission could add a significant amount of pleasure to daily commute? I know it took me around 10 or 15 yrs to get here, but I’m here now dammit! Sure, I can find a Toyota Camry with a stick, but it has been stripped down to nothing, and probably is impossible to actually find at a dealer. Sure, if I want to spend over 35k, my options open up greatly. Is it too much to ask to find a nicely equipped family sedan with a manual transmission? Hell, I would take a well-equipped two-door sedan! For all of you out there who are going to pull out some random sedan that fits these descriptions, you are missing the point. Yes there are exceptions to the rule; but they are just that, exceptions. I would like as many options as possible when choosing something that I will likely be paying on for the next 5 years or so. Not sure what I will end up with when I end up buying another car, but I do know that I will start with the transmission and then move from there.
What about the Subaru Legacy? Unless you get the Limited, or the H6 engine, you can get a manual. Heck, even a Mazda6 i Sport you can get a 6-speed manual, and I wouldn’t exactly call that stripped. As long as you don’t want AWD, there are several models of the Suzuki Kizashi available with a 6-speed manual. You can even get the Volkswagen Passat with the 2.5L gas engine or the 2.0L TDI engine and a manual transmission, in several trim levels! The Honda Accord you can even get in the LX or EX trim levels with a manual. That’s at least five more “exceptions”, if you can call it that… Just look around, you’d be surprised.