We have a sports car with a 6-Speed manual transmission, and I couldn’t imagine having a car like that with an automatic (many people can).

I have had a pickup truck my whole adult life. The last several have been automatic transmission. I continued to drive MT trucks in the USFS, but ultimately they too have been replaced with automatics.

For years now, trucks with autos have had a manual shift mode. Driving in 4WD, I drop down to 5th for increased control in snow and ice. On mountain roads, I can drop down as many gears as necessary to hold the truck back and keep me from being off-and-on the brakes—I hate following someone down off a pass who relies on their brakes alone, aggravating.

The future is now. Working trucks with automatic transmissions have been with us for years. It’s just cemented in place now.

quote:

Originally posted by MikeNH:
Manuals are all but dead in trucks. All of you who say you'll just get a Tacoma instead obviously haven't driven a new one. Still has the same terrible low seats they've had since 1994 and the new 3.5 V6 is gutless compared to the 4.0 it replaced.


The multi speed transmissions are hard to dial in. The 9-speed AirmanJeff posted of above me is used by Chrysler, Honda/Acura and Land Rover and it is horrible in everything they throw it in. My Grand Cherokee has an 8-speed that is used in the Ram, their RWD cars and it is fantastic. This is also used by tons of other brands as well. On the pickups, manual mode for the trans behaves a bit differently than what you find in cars and SUVs- it isn't really made to be a manumatic or whatever you want to call it. It locks out upper gears. So in my last Silverado (a 6-speed), in town I would put it in M4 to lock out 5th and 6th so it wouldn't lug the engine in town. This made it way more responsive.

Totally true with the Tacoma. My in-laws are Toyota people and while I was helping my MIL buy a RAV4 I took a new Tacoma out for a spin (this was last year). I hated the interior, the seats were low, and I felt like the hood was bigger than the hood in my Silverado (and the way it curves upwards really hurt visibility). It felt a lot bigger than I was expecting too and the engine left a lot to be desired. I was even more shocked with the no haggle 35k price tag. No thanks.

And you are right about the 8 speeds...buddy of mine has a Challenger with the 8 speed and it's much more responsive. I wouldn't consider a 9 speed in any situation ever. What a terrible transmission.

quote:

Originally posted by limblessbiff:
Ugh, what is up with all these short bed yuppy trucks? These 5ft or 5.5ft beds may as well be an suv. Ordinarily I'd say to each his own but it's getting harder and harder to find an extended cab with the half doors and 6 or 8ft bed that's actually useful for something other than groceries

Agreed.

I don’t know, I’ve been pretty happy with my “yuppie” F150 XLT SuperCrew with the tiny and insignificant 5.5’ bed.

Seems to have hauled everything I have needed such as bags of concrete, 12’ lumber, concrete blocks, and more. I imagine if one was a construction worker or lumberjack it might be a bit short for a work truck, but for a jack of all trades it does just fine.

Considering it is my wife’s daily driver that has to navigate city streets and grocery store parking lots it checks all the boxes.


As for the automatic transmissions, maybe I am suffering from ”Low T” (or maybe because I have a sport bike) I just don’t see driving a car or truck with a stick as an affirmation of my masculinity. I suppose if I had a garage queen fun car that I only took out on weekends I might be interested, but last thing I want on a 45 mile, hour long commute is to be pumping a clutch and shifting.

My 17 Mustang GT has the 6 speed auto and it does just fine all on its own. If I am feeling particularly threatened, I can put it “Track Mode” and shift manually with my paddle shifters to my hearts content. Best of both worlds I guess. The only down side is I have to put it in neutral if I want to rev it to impress someone rather than just holding the clutch. Not really a problem since I grew up many years ago.

As for performance, times have changed. Equal driver, equal Mustang, the automatic will win every time seems to have been proven from what I see on the Mustang forums, technology wins and human can’t resond as fast as the computer on getting the shift.


Besides it is a lot easier to text if I don’t have to be shifting all the time...

quote:

Originally posted by 911Boss:

As for the automatic transmissions, maybe I am suffering from ”Low T” (or maybe because I have a sport bike) I just don’t see driving a car or truck with a stick as an affirmation of my masculinity. I suppose if I had a garage queen fun car that I only took out on weekends I might be interested, but last thing I want on a 45 mile, hour long commute is to be pumping a clutch and shifting.

For me, there's more of a connection to the car. You control it. You can place it in the best gear for the situation as you see fit. The well-engineered automatics can do that, somewhat. Most budget automatics cannot (in my experience).

But unfortunately manuals are a thing of the past. Still popular overseas in some places but Americans want nothing to do with them. I found that out when trying to sell my non-sports car manual transmission econobox a few years back.

Just wait until all combustion engines are gone and you can't get a manual, gas, diesel with manual crank windows, cloth seats, rubber floor mats and base wheel options.


It never matters what the manufacturer does, someones gonna end up with a pair of wadded panties about something, and it won't be the kind find n the glove box...

they'll probably bitch about that too....

quote:

Originally posted by limblessbiff:
Ugh, what is up with all these short bed yuppy trucks? These 5ft or 5.5ft beds may as well be an suv. Ordinarily I'd say to each his own but it's getting harder and harder to find an extended cab with the half doors and 6 or 8ft bed that's actually useful for something other than groceries

One like that would suit my wants and needs perfectly (not that I have any plans to buy any vehicle). I rarely carry any passengers. My nearly 10-year-old car has a pristine rear seat; only one person has sat back there in all this time.

quote:

...car has a pristine rear seat

Lol good thing this isn't high school, that's something you wouldn't want to brag about

quote:

Originally posted by egregore:

quote:

Originally posted by limblessbiff:
Ugh, what is up with all these short bed yuppy trucks? These 5ft or 5.5ft beds may as well be an suv. Ordinarily I'd say to each his own but it's getting harder and harder to find an extended cab with the half doors and 6 or 8ft bed that's actually useful for something other than groceries

One like that would suit my wants and needs perfectly (not that I have any plans to buy any vehicle). I rarely carry any passengers. My nearly 10-year-old car has a pristine rear seat; only one person has sat back there in all this time.

Yup, my Tacoma has an awesome 5ft bed. That's 5ft more than an SUV or my old coupe had.
And to really rust your walker I bought an AUTOMATIC!! It's wayyy faster than your manual.

Looks like a beefed up Ford Explorer Sport Trac

Reading some of recent mid sized truck reviews, the top three were Ridgeline, Colorado followed by the Tacoma. Several reviewers gave the Tacoma lower marks because..... it's more like a truck! So that put me over the top and I bought a new Tacoma.

I may wait on buying a new vehicle until I get a chance to see the Ranger.

quote:

Originally posted by NavyGuy:
Reading some of recent mid sized truck reviews, the top three were Ridgeline, Colorado followed by the Tacoma. Several reviewers gave the Tacoma lower marks because..... it's more like a truck! So that put me over the top and I bought a new Tacoma.

One of the many reviews I read before buying my Tacoma mentioned that the Tacoma had slower 0-60 times and top speed than the competitors. Who the fuck is out there racing 4x4 trucks?

quote:

Originally posted by AirmanJeff:

quote:

Originally posted by 911Boss:

As for the automatic transmissions, maybe I am suffering from ”Low T” (or maybe because I have a sport bike) I just don’t see driving a car or truck with a stick as an affirmation of my masculinity. I suppose if I had a garage queen fun car that I only took out on weekends I might be interested, but last thing I want on a 45 mile, hour long commute is to be pumping a clutch and shifting.

For me, there's more of a connection to the car. You control it. You can place it in the best gear for the situation as you see fit. The well-engineered automatics can do that, somewhat. Most budget automatics cannot (in my experience).

But unfortunately manuals are a thing of the past. Still popular overseas in some places but Americans want nothing to do with them. I found that out when trying to sell my non-sports car manual transmission econobox a few years back.

Agreed. I want to row the gears, I want to be in control.
Yup auto have come a long way and if I was looking for precise performance or getting every once of gas out of it sure but I don’t care about those things.

My buddy got a 911 with the fancy dancy automtatic. Just was not right not rowing the gears.

I like shifting my own gears but it definitely won't be long before no manufacturer offers a manual. Ferrari hasn't offered a manual transmission in years. They're automatic shifts faster and more efficiently than any human could. It still seems wrong to have an automatic in a sports car.

quote:

Originally posted by sigspecops:
I like shifting my own gears but it definitely won't be long before no manufacturer offers a manual. Ferrari hasn't offered a manual transmission in years. They're automatic shifts faster and more efficiently than any human could. It still seems wrong to have an automatic in a sports car.

It’ll be a while. Honda, Subaru, Mazda, and others still have a strong line of available manuals.

Though it’s surely coming one day.

quote:

Originally posted by Oz_Shadow:
Looks like a beefed up Ford Explorer Sport Trac

Read the details. Under the skin they're two completely different animals.

quote:

Originally posted by NavyGuy:
Reading some of recent mid sized truck reviews, the top three were Ridgeline, Colorado followed by the Tacoma. Several reviewers gave the Tacoma lower marks because..... it's more like a truck! So that put me over the top and I bought a new Tacoma.

I like the Ridgeline (actually test drove it some time back and loved the ride quality) but it is not a truck in the basic sense of what a truck is. It is however a very good compromise for people who don't actually want a truck, but want some of a truck's utility.

New article from Autoweek: is Ford coming too late to the mid-size truck party?

Link

I wish them lots of sales!

quote:

Originally posted by bigdeal:

quote:

Originally posted by NavyGuy:
Reading some of recent mid sized truck reviews, the top three were Ridgeline, Colorado followed by the Tacoma. Several reviewers gave the Tacoma lower marks because..... it's more like a truck! So that put me over the top and I bought a new Tacoma.

I like the Ridgeline (actually test drove it some time back and loved the ride quality) but it is not a truck in the basic sense of what a truck is. It is however a very good compromise for people who don't actually want a truck, but want some of a truck's utility.

I suggest anyone in the market for a midsize truck (who isn't interested in rock crawling and serious off-roading their new $35k+ vehicle) at least look at and drive a Ridgeline. And this coming from one who always felt a pickup should have low range and manual transmission.

For 13 years my truck had been an 04 Tundra 4x4, access cab 6'bed, V6, manual. When it came time to replace it the obvious choice was a Tacoma which is about the same size as the old Tundra which is as large a vehicle as I would go. In a nutshell it came to "why buy off-roadability which I'd very seldom use at the expense of ride quality, handling, and comfort which I appreciate every time I drive"? In my case the Ridgeline just made more sense. Also compared to a Tacoma or Ranger double cab it has a much wider bed as well as slightly longer so (with tailgate down) 4x8 material lays right on the floor which can't be done in any other midsize truck to my knowledge. And this truck handles like a sport sedan!

In all honesty I'm not missing the manual transmission at all. The 6-speed auto shifts so smoothly I can barely detect when it shifts and it's always in the right gear. Over the last 30 years manual transmissions have improved slightly while good automatics have improved on an order of magnitude, excepting the problematic ZF 9-speed auto which is a mess.

The mid size truck market looks have evolved to;
Tacoma and Jeep's new Wangler pick-up: focused on off-roadability.
GM Canyon/Colorado and Ranger: a little less emphasis on off-road and more on comfort.
Ridgeline: focus on ride, handling, comfort, quiet, best on-road traction in all weather, storage functionality.