Future generations are likely to not even know what a manual transmission is and the death blow may come from safety tech and not from dual-clutch automatics.

According to Automotive News and FordAuthority.com, "Automatic emergency braking and adaptive cruise control do not pose a direct threat to the manual gearbox." It is the development cost to adapt this new generation of safety tech to manual-trans cars when only 1.2 percent of new vehicles sold in the US have a stick shift.

For now, there are still manual-shift domestic and European imports available with row boxes, though some models may be special-order only and not commonly found on dealer lots.

One excellent exception is the Ford Mustang Mach 1, shown in this photo. It is available with a six-speed manual.

Speaking of manual-shift Mustangs, how about putting two in your garage just for helping out charity. Check out Dream Giveaway's pair of matching Mach 1s in the Mustang Dream Giveaway at www.dreamgiveaway.com/dg/mustang.