Coming In Clutch

Honda's E-Clutch automates the clutch without sacrificing manual control.

- Greg Fink

DESPITE OUR BEST EFFORTS, our crusade to “Save the manuals!” has failed to keep the stick shift off the endangered-species list. When our campaign started in 2010, there were still more than 100 models offering a three-pedal-equipped configuration. In 2025, that number has fallen to just 27. Perhaps one reason people grew weary of the manual transmission is the fatigue experienced by the leg that operates the clutch.

While the notion of a manual gearbox that forgoes a clutch pedal is nothing new (Chrysler brought such a concept to market in the 1940s), the theoretical promise of the idea has never panned out in practice. It’s fair to blame the poor clutch modulation of the prior iterations.