Report: Only 18 Percent Of Americans Can Drive Manual

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A new report shows fewer Americans own a car with manual transmission let alone know how to operate one. And there appear to be a number of reasons for it.

The report from U.S. News and World Report show only 18 percent of U.S. drivers know how to operate a stick shift. It says that because of advancements in automatic transmissions and fuel economy, only about 5 percent of vehicles sold in the U.S. today come with a stick shift. That's down from 25 percent of cars in 1987.

The third pedal is also bad for re-sale value, on average selling for $2,000 less than cars with automatic transmissions.