Volkswagen to Sticks: Never Gonna Give U Up

As dry cleaning tycoon George Jefferson once said, “In politics, lies are called promises.” Automotive purists surely hope that lesson doesn’t apply to Volkswagen’s pledge to hang on to manual transmissions for dear life.

While the automaker says it has no inherent desire to go the two-pedal-only route, it makes clear that the ball is entirely in the customer’s court.

Speaking to Autocar, Volkswagen tech boss Matthias Rabe said, “Some people enjoy going back to their roots and changing gear manually, and so long as there is a demand, we will continue to offer them.”

What a nice thing to say. Rabe’s comments came in the wake of the European debut of the next-generation Golf GTI, which carries a standard sic-speed manual and turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder. A seven-speed dual-clutch automatic is optional, though VW’s recipe for America remains to be seen.

It’s expected that the still-popular GTI and Golf R will arrive here, minus the base hatch that, while well put together, has fallen out of favor with the U.S. new car buyer. Buyers of lesser means can still get a six-speed stick in the base Jetta, which happens to be an increasing rarity in the low-end car market.

Whereas once a buyer could get into any number of row-your-own compacts and subcompacts, the pairing is increasingly falling out of favor. Blame a rock-bottom take rates on this side of the pond and an industry-wide trend of offering fewer build configurations. Look to the 2020 Nissan Sentra for evidence of this.

How long will VW’s pledge hold up? It’s up to you… and perhaps to VW, too, as the German giant sure likes electric powertrains. One thing you don’t see in an EV is a clutch pedal.

[Image: Murilee Martin/TTAC]