Manuals are good for the brain

[Poppavein]

A fascinating study from Japan suggests working a manual gearbox gives the aging brain a daily workout automatics simply can't

https://www.carscoops.com/2026/06/manual-transmission-brain-study/

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[GI_Jo_Nathan]

I concur doctor.

 

[KABQ]

User name does not check out. Strokes are terrible for brains of any age

 

[BLTN]

Engaging the clutch and the mind at the same time...Works for me.

 

[KreeHBronco]

Good, I need all the help I can get. After driving my manual in LA and on I5 stop-and-go traffic, I must be a genius by now.

 

[RadDad]

So in addition to all of the screen time and AI making younger folks dumber, we now can also blame the automatics???? I knew it!

I hear manual drivers are also more likely to be quite handsome and charming.

 

[UncleBrad]

Just found my socks. Now what were you saying?

Driving a manual keeps the driver alert and engaged. It's hard to build "nanny robots" to circumvent the human-to-machine interface we know and love.

 

[UncleBrad]

So in addition to all of the screen time and AI making younger folks dumber, we now can also blame the automatics???? I knew it!

I hear manual drivers are also more likely to be quite handsome and charming.

It's true, you know. All the guys want to be like us, and all the chicks think they can change us.

 

[mschipa]

So in addition to all of the screen time and AI making younger folks dumber, we now can also blame the automatics???? I knew it!

I hear manual drivers are also more likely to be quite handsome and charming.

Agreed, though I am much too humble to recognize that in me...

 

[limbo]

True but *yawn*.

Replacing manual tasks (lower technology) with automation (higher technology) requires less day-to-day effort and brain power for those tasks. That, in fact, is the point.

 

[rblume73]

I don't know, when I drive my automatic truck after the Bronco. I always try to step on the clutch, and find the wide brake pedal instead sometimes.

 

[Q1svt]

@Poppavein ... plus 1, and why I ordered my Bronco manual, to be there when riding two wheels is no longer an option... But you should already know that since you ride motorcycles tooooo...

Like playing the drums... the arms and legs are all doing something different... and why many cannot even pat their head and rub their tummy in a circular motion at the same time lol

 

[Q1svt]

Good, I need all the help I can get. After driving my manual in LA and on I5 stop-and-go traffic, I must be a genius by now.

lol... only if you know how to use granny/crawl and first in traffic...

 

[MilesTeg]

I don't know, when I drive my automatic truck after the Bronco. I always try to step on the clutch, and find the wide brake pedal instead sometimes.

This is a habit I have found very hard to break. Luckily, it only happens to me when I first get in an automatic and not at stop lights!

 

[KreeHBronco]

lol... only if you know how to use granny/crawl and first in traffic...

Yes and I have used it, but the traffic there is stop, go 15mph, stop, then 60mph, then 80mph, ... then stop ... step and repeat. Hard to stay in any one gear for long. Besides, my brain needs the workout.

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