Have you ever been a victim of the false-manual listing scheme? We all know how it goes. First, you find the perfect car for sale, of course, listed as a manual. Then you start going through the photos only to be disappointed, there’s no clutch pedal to be found. You’ve been duped! What if there was a magical place that not only lists cars correctly as manual or automatic, but also tells you what kind of manual is in the car? That place is Japan, and they really know how to classify their manuals in all shapes and forms. Here’s how they do it.

What we’re talking about specifically is the Japanese dealer auction network. You know, where those grainy photos of crazy JDM machines in white photo booths come from. The beauty of this system is that each auction house has a standardized sheet explaining everything about the cars, including their transmission. They look like this:

There’s a lot there, but this is TMGPS so we’re just here to talk about the gearbox. That section highlighted in red is where the gearbox is listed. It says “F4,” any guesses what that stands for? Pretty straightforward: “4” is the amount of gears, and “F” stands for Floor. So it’s basically saying “four on the floor.” Once you learn the system, you’ll be scoping out the best manuals that Japan has to offer. Here’s the legend below:

F – Floor
C – Column
I – Integrated (Dash)
D – Dash
P – Dash
MT – Manual Transmission
1-7 – The amount of gears there are

Example: C4 = Four-speed manual with a column shifter

While it’s not a perfect system, and there are some inconsistencies among the different auction houses, this is much better than calling a Tiptronic a manual. You may also see cars listed as “MT” or just “5,” but if it has the number, you can be assured it’s a manual.

Semi trucks and commercial vehicles get a bit odd. Their transmissions may be listed as “Pro-Shift,” a semi-automated manual, or other odd figurations like “6×2.” We’ll have to touch on that in another article as there’s a ton of diversity among commercial trucks. Praise the manuals of all shapes and forms!

One of the best things we’ve discovered with this knowledge is the fact that column shifters were offered up until the early 2000s on some Nissan and Toyota commercial trucks. We wonder if any manufacturer is brave enough to bring those back…

We all know that the manual transmission is becoming more and more endangered, and with that, variations of the manual are also dwindling at alarming rates. If you’re looking for a specific way to row, you can search the Japanese auctions at sites like http://www.daveyjapan.com to get your obscure shifting on. You can also find a shirt with your favorite manual shift pattern at our store, so check it out and share your shift pattern with the world!

@DownTheDori takes pictures of weird and interesting cars found on the streets of Japan. Follow @downthedori on Instagram to see what’s happening on the streets of Japan.