Volkswagen It's the end of an era. Starting in 2027, you will not be able to buy any new Volkswagen with a manual transmission. The lone holdout in the automaker's lineup, the Jetta GLI, is losing its row-your-own option, reports TFLCar, leaving the seven-speed DSG as the only transmission option. Pour one out for the six-speed stick. You won't find this change mentioned in any press release, almost as though VW knows it won't be a popular move. Instead, the announcement came through VW's order guide for 2027 models, where the manual Jetta GLI was not listed as an option. TFLCar asked VW about this, and an unnamed company spokesman replied with the following: As drivers and car enthusiasts, we appreciate manuals too! That's why our region worked very hard to keep them around—we know it matters to a small but passionate group of drivers who love being fully engaged and rowing their own gears. Even so, global demand continued to narrow to a point where the market can no longer sustain it. As much as it hurts, that reality meant making some tough choices. Long live the manual Volkswagen The writing has been on the wall for a while for the GLI's six-speed. The GTI and Golf R already lost their manuals despite a take rate of 41 percent in 2024, up from 38 percent in 2023. As fewer manual models are available each year, enthusiasts have been looking to VW as one of the last options. But if the manual's overall lack of popularity isn't an issue for VW, why drop it? The issue isn't just sales, but also European emission regulations. A slight difference in emissions between the manual and DCT GTI led to the manual option being dropped. Euro 7 regulations begin to take effect at the end of November, which is when 2027 models will be out. It's possible this same DCT emissions situation may now apply to the Jetta GLI. In the past, the GTI and GLI have shared the same engine, but the current GLI still has the EA888G3 engine, while the GTI has the EA888evo4. The Jetta GLI may now be receiving the GTI's engine to comply with Euro 7, which also means losing the manual option. Even outside the enthusiast models, many of us have a manual Volkswagen in our personal car history somewhere. I grew up riding in my mom's 1974 Super Beetle, and I thoroughly enjoyed driving my Mk4 Jetta 1.8T, even before I cut the back off and turned it into a ute. It may feel a bit repetitive to say, but we'll continue to send out the same message regarding the dwindling availability of manual transmissions: Act quickly and buy a manual Jetta GLI while you still can.