They really don’t make cars like the 2012 Mazda5 Sport anymore, and that’s sad. On this episode of Race to the Bottom, I get to end 2025 by driving one of the most surprising cars I’ve featured this year: a minivan with a manual transmission! Mazda and Ford really cooked with this, because it’s not just a minivan with a 6-speed manual transmission, but it rides on a compact car platform rather than a dedicated van platform! Known as the Mazda Premacy in Japan, the Mazda5 had the potential to completely change the family car landscape in the United States. So why did it ultimately fail to find an audience? And why don’t automakers build cars like this anymore? Is there even a market for something this delightfully weird anymore? Come along with me for a test drive, a critique, and an in-depth history of the 2012 Mazda5 Sport.