They keep trying - 4 speed EV anyone?

[98SVT - was 06GT]

    Ford has just filed a patent to bring back a classic driving experience - but only 18 percent of Americans would know how to use it.

    The automaker has submitted paperwork to bring stick shifts to electric vehicles.

    Manual transmissions have all but vanished from the American new car market. Last year, less than 1 percent of new vehicles sold in the U.S. had manual gearboxes.

    In 1990, that figure sat between 25 and 30 percent.

    The patent application, published on March 20, outlines a system designed to replicate the tactile experience of shifting through gears – even though there are no actual gears to shift.

    The setup includes a traditional-looking shift lever mounted in a raised console, similar to the ones found in gas-powered sports cars.

    But instead of mechanical linkages, the system uses electronic signals to adjust the EV's driving feedback based on how the driver moves the stick.