NOT many Americans still want a car with a manual transmission. And for the Facebook generation, a car with a third pedal near the floorboard (it’s called a clutch) might as well be a Hudson Hornet.

For those reasons, fewer automakers — even exotic brands like Lamborghini — are bothering with stick shifts. So while a small cadre of enthusiasts can praise Acura for offering a 6-speed manual in its 2013 ILX , one wonders if the sales strategy will someday be studied in business schools as a cautionary tale of misguided marketing: the most powerful, desirable version of this compact sport sedan isn’t available with an automatic transmission at all.

Essentially, if you refuse to wrangle a stick and a clutch — or can’t sell your significant other on the arrangement — you may want to cross the ILX off your list. Save thousands and get a Ford Focus, a Mazda 3 or another sporty compact with a lot of features but no luxury pretensions. It’s really that simple. And the problem isn’t that the ILX is a bad car. The problem is that it is three cars.

One of these is impressive, and the others are largely forgettable, all because of the sort of self-sabotage that we’ve seen too often of late from Honda and its upscale Acura division.