Hyperreality

1. First timer. Won’t get jail time.
2. Most people made their minds up one way or another a long time ago.
3. It won’t change many voters’ minds, but on the other hand if the election’s tight as the polls seem to suggest, a few thousand votes here, and a few thousand who don’t vote at all, may actually determine the election result.

Yes.

In Europe you basically have to be handicapped to not learn to drive manual. Most people get the manual driving license because it allows you to drive both, whereas the automatic one doesn’t.

Manual transmission was and often still is cheaper, often cheaper to repair, often more reliable, often uses less fuel, and in cheap and less powerful cars the combination is often better. Because there are so many manual cars here, including at rental places, it’s a no brainer to learn to drive manual.

This being said, that’s changing. Also, less and less young people are getting a driving license due to affordability and cars no longer being the status symbol they once were.