The ocean market is clear. Natural selection eliminated the gearbox, which was a common part of new models elsewhere in the world until recently.
The transition from a four-speed manual transmission to a five-speed gearbox was accompanied by far more fame than the subsequent modernization to the option of six or even seven gears. The presence of five degrees was indicated many times by an external inscription or a badge on the hood, so that everyone knows that the flight of the person in question does not end at four.
The five-position manual setting symbolized the automotive industry during the 1990s, and the reverberations of an era are evidently over, at least in the overseas market. In America, the five-speed manual is a thing of the past, a once-fantastic advance obliterated by the natural progression of newer and better technology.
For the full year 2022, the minimum number of vehicles sold in the US requiring manual selection of one of the five speeds. If we leave aside the reluctance of Americans to shift gears, those interested in living with a car have a choice mainly of models with a six-speed transmission. The liquidation superiority of six-speed transmissions bravely resists the last Mohican in the form of the Nissan Versa.
The compact sedan or hatchback serves less demanding Americans from 2006 to the present. The third generation is already standing in car showrooms, last year alone it was convinced by almost 13,400 customers from the United States (over 48,000 units were even sold in Mexico). Nissan benefits from low production costs, simple servicing and a low price – the version with a 1.6io engine with a power of 91 kW (124 hp) costs from USD 15,730 (CZK 347,000).
Sellers confirm the rational thinking of clients weighed down by operating costs and inflation. In a recent survey of Nissan owners and buyers, more than half of respondents – 53% – identified affordability as one of the most important attributes when choosing a new car. In second place is low fuel consumption, which the Versa meets with a tabulated seven liters in city traffic.
The thrifty Nissan represents the very last option to buy a used car with a five-speed gearbox in the US, the twilight over the outdated transmission is accentuated by the fact that only units of stock parts are available in the entire United States. The five-speed manual belongs to the shaved basic configuration, which serves more marketing purposes than sales to end users.
