The venerable stick shift, or manual transmission, is dying and fading away. While it has long since been in decline in North America, it has clung on strongly in other regions around the world like in Great Britain. In Great Britain, almost all cars are stick shifts, and most people think driving an automatic transmission is lame.

While across the pond in the US, it is not uncommon to find people who cannot drive a stick shift at all. But no matter how much people would like to own and drive a stick shift, its days are numbered. An ever-increasing amount of new gasoline and diesel cars come only with automatic transmission, and electrical vehicles do not have a stick shift at all. The UK is looking to sell only electric vehicles by the end of the decade — then gone will be the age of the stick shift in the British Isles (California is set to follow suit in 2035).

Here are five reasons we're all going to miss the stick shift — and five reasons why driving will be better without them.

10 Better - No More Hill Starts

Remember stalling the car, bunny hopping, crunching the gears, and riding the clutch while making a fool out of yourself on those nasty hill starts? Well no more!

No longer will anyone have to worry about those pesky hills starts. That being said, one could claim that steep hill starts were one of the most fun parts of driving a stick shift.

9 Worse - No More Push Starts

Remember coming back to your car to find the battery dead as you left your headlights on? And remember that with those old cars it wasn't too much of a problem, just call your buddies over, push it down the hill, put it into gear, drop the clutch, and away you go!

Well no longer. Once it's dead, it's dead, and you will need to get it charged to get it going again.

8 Better - Freedom To Drink Your Morning Coffee

It's never fun having to work in the morning before your morning coffee. But who has time for a proper breakfast before work?

With an automatic transmission, one hand is completely free for that coffee. Just don't text and drive — wait for level 3 self-driving software before you do that!

7 Worse - Lame R&R Mountain Pass Driving

One of the most fun parts of driving stick shift is recreational driving in those stunning mountain passes with their awesome hair-pin turns.

But to really enjoy that sort of driving, one really needs to have more control of the gears — and that requires a stick shift. Otherwise, all you're doing is braking around the corners and that's just lame!

6 Better - No More Replacing The Clutch

Remember the wincing and pain on your dad's face as he taught you to drive in his beloved car, and you rode the clutch and crunched his gears?

No more will you need to replace those poor old worn-out gears and clutches and your kids won't be crunching your gears. And with EVs, with fewer moving parts there will be fewer breakdowns and maintenance.

Related: 15 Things You Didn’t Know About Manual Transmissions

5 Worse - Loss of Feeling Of Control

One of the most enjoyable aspects of driving is the feeling of control. A stick shift gives you that feeling. The feeling that you are actually in command of your vehicle and actually driving it.

With the vehicles becoming more and more automated, the drivers are doing less and less driving, and accordingly, one feels more and more redundant behind the wheel.

4 Better - Easier For More People To Drive

While many enjoy the freedom and power of driving, others are nervous and scared of driving. Losing the stick shift will make driving much more comfortable and less challenging for them.

Some people are really incompetent drivers and the more the vehicle is automated, the better it will be for them (and safer for all of us).

3 Worse - Loss Of Choice

It is always fun having a range of choices (as long as you're not too indecisive). Till now, we have enjoyed the freedom of choice. Maybe we have chosen to have one of each. Maybe an automatic for around-town driving and a manual transmission for fun?

But those days are coming to an end. In another 10 or so years, there may be very few, if any, stick shift models on the market.

Related: 8 Sickest New Sports Cars That Still Offer Manual Transmissions In 2021

2 Better - Fuel Economy

While stick shifts have always had the advantage of greater fuel economy, that advantage has whittled away over the years and in many cases has now completely reversed. Today automatics are becoming more fuel-efficient than their stick shift counterpart.

At least if you have an old manual transmission vehicle you can comfort yourself in the knowledge that this vehicle was more fuel-efficient for its time.

Related: There May Still Be Hope For The Manual Transmission

1 Worse - Embarrassment To Admit You Can't Drive Your Friend's Vintage Car

If there aren't any manual transmissions around, then most people will forget how to drive them or just not learn in the first place.

That'll be embarrassing when your friend offers you to drive his vintage Ford pickup truck, and you have to admit you can't handle the stick shift!

In summary, the age of stick shifts is soon to come to an end. If you want one, you will need an old car.

Next: 10 Iconic Stick Shifts You Have To Experience