The major downside, I think, of the US totally abandoning the stick shift is that in my experience the majority of rentals outside of the US are stick. I'm very

The major downside, I think, of the US totally abandoning the stick shift is that in my experience the majority of rentals outside of the US are stick. I'm very aware of this in Europe, and I guess it would also be true in even less developed countries. I recognize that this is a somewhat niche problem but when the time comes and you can't drive any of the rentals on the lot, that's going to be a real pain!