Time to talk about manual transmissions—and wagons—two attention-grabbing topics for the majority of enthusiasts, especially since both seem to be on the Endangered Options list these days. And yes, the title of this piece is a throwback to the show Heroes, which apparently came out a whopping sixteen years ago. I only made it through a season of that show, but I do recall the “save the cheerleader, save the world” phrase being prevalent everywhere. It was a simpler time.
Enough about yesteryear and on to why you’re here: BMW hasn’t given up on manual transmissions. In fact, despite declining sales of manual-transmission-optioned vehicles over the years, MINI recently launched a program for those who don’t know how to row their own gears to learn how. In an early-November press release, BMW touted that they would be “bringing back the fun of driving a manual transmission by launching a new MINI Manual Driving School at the BMW Performance Center in Thermal, California.” This news broke just after MINI announced that they’d also be bringing back manual transmissions to a subset of models last month.
The 2023 M2 comes with a manual option! [Photo courtesy of BMW.]
A rendering of the G99 M5 Touring. [Image by BimmerPost.]
A rendering of the G99 M5 Touring. [Image by BimmerPost.]
How does this save the world? Well, wouldn’t we all just be happier and more optimistic people living in a land of wagons and manual transmissions—you know, the land of milk and honey?—Mike Bevels
[Photos courtesy of BMW and BimmerPost.]
