In the older cars you were more part of the mechanism: remember how you could get somebody to give you a push when the battery died, after you got going with the gear in second you eased out the clutch and the engine would start. If you had to stop fast or the brakes failed you jammed on the emergency brake and downshifted mightily. How many kids today even know where the emergency brake is, or how to downshift, auto or manual? How many can even drive a manual (much less double clutch!) However, the cars we have today are the cars we have. They are safer and more reliable, start right up at 0 degrees (remember coaxing old Bessie to growl and turn over on stiff oil?) but they can be treated like an appliance to turn on or turn off, without a whole lot of thought about how it works or what to do in dangerous situations. The cars that get driven through convenience store windows aren't manual shift.
