Back in July, Honda announced it’d pause production of two models with manual transmissions: the 2027 Honda Civic Si and its fancier sibling, the Acura Integra A-Spec. The move was initially seen as a bit of a death certificate for the fun-to-drive compacts, but the automaker later clarified that the Si will undoubtedly return with the next-generation Civic in 2028—even if it didn’t specify it’d do so with a manual.
While attending the IndyCar Freedom 250 race in Washington, D.C., American Honda VP of Auto Sales Lance Woelfer shared the current reality of the manual transmission, which isn’t exactly great.
“It continues to be a smaller and smaller portion of the market that gets excited about the manual, and that will probably continue to shrink, honestly,” Woelfer told media, including The Drive. “But because they’re fun-to-drive, we can continue to have models like the Civic Si or the Integra or the Type R that offer [the manual]. But we don’t see [it] growing.
“We see very little [demand] going in, but we’re going to have them in the [assembly] line.
Currently, Honda offers four models with a manual transmission across its two brands: the Civic Si, a longtime staple of the sporty compact sedan segment that’s always catered to enthusiasts. Then there’s the Integra with the A-Spec package, which, unlike the Si, offers it as optional equipment. The six-speed manual is also found in the more hardcore versions of those two, the track-ready Civic Type R and spicy Integra Type S.
Historically, Honda has remained committed to selling fun-to-drive cars across its lineup, so, given its previous statements that the production pause is merely a hiatus and the comments above, it’s safe to assume the next-generation Si will retain the manual. I’d feel less confident about a non-Type S manual Integra, but only time will tell. If it does return, it would also be for the 2028 model year.
Following Woelfer’s comments, I pivoted to American Honda CEO Eiji Fujimura and asked if he could promise enthusiasts that Honda would continue making manuals for years to come. He gave a less specific but more poetic answer: “Sometimes I need to get back to Soichiro Honda [on some things], but we always think about [the enthusiasts], and we always think about their dreams.”
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