This point doesn’t really apply if you live outside of the United States, as people in other parts of the world tend to learn how to drive in a manual. For example, Britain has two types of license. One is for automatic cars only, while another covers both manual and automatic vehicles. The latter requires someone to pass a driving test in a car with a manual transmission, and not doing so can severely limit the number of cars you have access to, so most people opt for the “full license.” In the U.S., it’s a totally different story.
Fewer than one in five Americans can “drive stick” according to The Wall Street Journal. Even then, saying you can drive a manual and actually doing so competently are two entirely different things. The people with this skill are likely older, and may not have had access to a gearstick in several decades. Then there’s the number of manuals on the road in the U.S. — which is only 1% of all cars, according to the same piece. Given the rise of electric cars, there’s likely to be less opportunity to learn going forward.
On the plus side, this means your average thief is probably incapable of getting a manual vehicle out of the parking lot. Instead, they’ll probably stall multiple times, panic, and cause somewhat of a scene if they try. More likely, the would be car thief will see the gear stick, realize their limitations, and move on to an easier target. The most modern anti-theft systems can be beaten with the right know-how, so a stickshift’s relative obscurity may save your pride and joy.
