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1: It's much easier to sell automatics to yuppies. A lot fo sales now are not to construction workers and the like, but are in places like Los Angeles where the average person never even sees snow or much rain, let alone actually uses their truck off-road(as opposed to say, Missouri, where 20-30% of large trucks are manuals and 80%+ are 4x4, from what my cousins say.) They buy purely because of the bling and status factor.
2: Automatics generate more profit to the dealers down the line. Sad to say, but it's a world that's run by money and greed.
The Ford and GMC work trucks, the ones with the typical contractor beds and such on them, all can be had exactly how you want them. The F250 is essentially a F150 with a bit heavier components and a DIY ordering scheme(the GMC trucks as well). Order manual, order 4x4, and order a bed. But finding a 4x4 with manual on the lot... very rare if you're within 50 miles of a major city.
Dodge, though, has a nice smaller V8 with a short bed, 4x4, and manual. It's about the size of a typical extended cab small pickup or midsize SUV. Looks like it would be not so bad to drive around town. Now, if you can find a 2007 somehow, they are giving $5000 in rebates as well, so $20K is possible. That buys a lot of gas.
Of course, my vote goes to the XTerra.
But back to the DB9, reliable or not, I'm pleased that at least one luxury GT maker still offers a manual transmission. Jaguar doesn't, Mercedes/AMG doesn't, Bentley doesn't, even BMW doesn't in their bloated M6. Maybe under new ownership, Aston Martin can exorcise itself of the reliability gremlims.
Most people prefer to pull trailers with an automatic. I think I mentioned a while back that my buddy with the F150 got into sailing a few years ago and really wishes he had an automatic for pulling his 20' boat up and down the ramp.
That is to say that the manufacturers put lower limits on the manuals because they can't predict how people will use the transmission/or in most cases, not use it correctly.
As for the trailer, figure 1/4 of its weight in extras. So 5000lbs is likely a closer weigh-it-on-a-scale-ready-to-go weight.(you have to figure water, fuel/tanks, A/C, fridge, linens, supplies, spare tire, and so on... the listed weight is a bare-bones no options off the assmebly line weight for most trailer makers.
Oh - if you don't mind asking - what model of trailer?
Or maybe there is just one...it is what most buyers want to buy.
I did stop by to see an old friend that is a fleet manager for a Ford dealership in San Bernardino. He had some base 3/4 ton work trucks with manuals. Some had a bed and some didn't. Most had a bench seat and they came in white, light blue, and light green.
It sounds like you're going to get some fun out of it.
I'd likely agree with that sentiment. Haven't driven an M6, but the 650i I drove, even with a 6-speed, was only a small improvement in the fun to drive department from the "sterile" Mercedes SL. These 4,000+ lb 2+2 GT's do nothing for me. Especially since my kids still fit in the back of a 911.
Was the DB9 a coupe or convertible? The one at my dealers was a automatic transmissioned coupe and, oddly, he said that they only offered a manual transmission in the convertible. Maybe that was for the 2006 model year only.
I have some things to do before this coming spring but once that happens I plan on seeing the sights this country has to offer while I am still healthy enough to do it.
Fun. My wife and I nearly found ourselves the lucky owners of a '86 RV for $5k. We would have taken it but I am not mechanically inclined and while the interior was great I was too unsure of the mechanics to feel safe putting my family in the middle of nowhere in it.
Just to keep this relevant to the thread, it was NOT a manual. In fact I'm willing to bet that there are no manual RVs out there!
By the way, my son got a great deal on an older RV and he loves it. But then he is a mechanic. However he is stationed in Iraq right now so the RV sits a bit more than he planned. I think there is a partial picture of it on My carspace site next to his 4Runner rock crawler.
Though I'm sure the rental company didn't offer it, try a 6s if you really want an automatic.
The 19 international is smaller but is 3500lbs. I like the fact that it has a bed/shower that's closed off from the rest of the trailer. Tons of light - very bright. the 23ft+ models, though in the 4500-5000lb range, are astounding. Just doesn't feel like a travel trailer. More like a miniature luxury condo.
http://www.lightweight-rv-news.com/
All the info you need.
http://www.hilotrailer.com/models/2708T.htm
This one I remember looking at myself a long time ago.
The slide slides in and the roof drops for travel. The advantage is a silly low weight as the entire top is fiberglass. 4379/6500lbs, almost 28 ft long, and has a separate bedroom plus a side-out couch area that rocks.
The bathroom is a bit hokey, but it's functional enough.
(the main problem with it, IMO, is no cabinet space up top, obviously)
Not half the quality of the Airstream, but loads of space for the weight.
A very worthy objective. Enjoy.
I owned a sailboat capable of going from Victoria, BC, to Wrangell, AK, (and back) thirty years or so ago, while forgoing much else, and have never been sorry. Now that I could more comfortably afford such a thing, I'm less physically able.
While I am an active advocate of manual transmissions (for those who are new here), most people pulling trailers with anything other than Class 8 tractors & nearly everyone doing moderately serious 4WD stuff (including me, with our Pathfinder) finds an automatic superior.
He collects steam engines/turbines and telescopes from the 19th up to the early 20th century. He has a collection of very rare watches some of which were custom made for just him so he has the only copy.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
Talk Back Tuesday: Fate of the Manual Transmission... (Karl on Cars)
...the manual transmission is going to go away eventually.
See, told ya :P
See, told ya
I'm pretty sure you have a sense of humor on this...
What I have a hard time with is the constant belief that as goes the American transmission preference, so goes the world.
The rest of the world prefers manuals. Therefore, as long as we are importing cars from non-US manufacturers, there will always be a manual option.
I think you are right that the number of manuals in this country won't grow and certainly the manual is no threat to the number of auto-transmissions.
The thing is just because something is available in europe does not mean it will be here. Look at all the engine choices they get that we don't.
That is a valid point. The only thing I would say is that the main reason for the engine differences are around our EPA emissions regs, not customer demand.
The rest of the world's preference for stick is certainly related to cost. Same reason that cheap, base models over here retain stick. That also suggests a place for stick shifts in perpetuity. The automatic transmission is never going to be cheaper to produce than a stick.
The reason that I think a European preference for sticks will mean that they are always available in the US is that since they are already producing stick versions, there is no real incentive for at least the Euro manufacturers to stop shipping them.
While we don't find many sticks on car lots, equally there is not a huge glut of unsold sticks sitting in airport parking pots.
Finally it seems that both Ford and GM are bringing their Euro models over here to try to re-ignite the US car market. Who knows, maybe they'll bring some more stick shifts with them? :shades:
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
Also DSG technology is currently licensed only to VW. That will keep uptake slow just because of lack of availability.
That'll come as news to Borg Warner which builds the gearboxes for VW and Audi. Just about every major manufacturer is working on a twin-clutch box.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
It's not news for Borg Warner.
Volvo is working on one for Ford right now.
In theory. BMW thought they had it but have ended up pulling their version from the M cars where they were applying.
The DSG technology is by no means proven out. There are questions on reliability (more moving parts than any existing transmission), unexpected gear shifts force the double clutch to have to bypass the alternate gear and make a shift within the same clutch box are slow and they are heavy.
Finally, I still see no compelling arguement that the DSG type transmission replaces the manual. I think replacing the automatic transmission is more likely with a DSG.
I couldn't agree more, I've been saying that for several years now. After all, a DSG is an automatic transmission. ;-)
Best Regards,
Shipo
I found that interesting, because my recent observation of semi-truck drivers was that lots of them are on a cell phone (hand held), and I am seeing this in the city, not only on highways. As you may know, most of these trucks have anywhere from 9 to 18 gears, and they are unsychronized!!
So - you have a voice activated nav system and you're talking on the phone. Presto - you just managed to change your destination when the car nav overhears your cell conversation.
Things will get real interesting when the car itself is equipped to respond to voice commands and you say something like "shift gears" or "let's back up a minute" to the person on the other end of your cell phone conversation.
I respectfully disagree completely.
If the DSG/CVT replaces the auto transmission, for instance Nissan still has a manual Altima and the CVT Altima, but no torque-converter Altima, manuals stay in the same level of demand. It is only the auto buyer who makes a small adjustment in their purchase. Essentially what I am saying is that the CVT or DSG is irrelevant to the future of manuals and actually makes that torque-converter transmission the one to go by the wayside.
If the DSG/CVT replaces the manual it would suggest that the only transmission option would be auto-box, CVT or DSG.
That is a very different 'Future of the Manual Transmission'.
Also while the Altima may now have both a CVT and a manual the Maxima and the Murano have only the CVT. The CVT has the potential of unlimited gear ratios and if they are mass produced to the point of the Converter automatic they should be less expensive to make. I believe there are less parts in a CVT. The advantages in fuel mileage almost disappear between a manual and CVT and from what I have hearing for such industry insiders as ZF transmissions the US and Asia are both moving or have moved away from the manual and their biggest manual market is Europe and third world countries. I have to agree with habitat in that more than likely the niche market will always hold a place for manuals I am not sure the entry level vehicles produced in Asia will always support that concept. It should also be obvious that Americans do not care what Europe drives or thinks. All you have to do is look at the percentage of Manuals we have or even small diesels and you can see how the American consumer feels.
Tell that to Saturn and Ford NA. Saturn is in the process of becoming the US outlet for Opel and Ford NA is trying to figure out how to get all the Ford Europe vehicles approved for passenger safety and emissions over here.
Looks like the Americans will be driving what Europe drives...
Don't have to imagine & haven't for decades. Allison (GM) has been making heavy-duty automatic transmissions for buses (mostly) & class 8 trucks (some, but probably increasing) since the '70's, if not the '60's.
And yet, to the surprise of some people (I'm guessing you're one), lots of trucking companies & owner-operators continue to spec trucks with manual transmissions.
Go figure.
For some reason cars change quite a bit on their trip over the big water and manuals and diesels and small displacement engines become Gas powered 1.8 and 2.0s with an automatic option. At least at a ratio of more than 9 to one.
But all we can do is wait and see. As someone just posted manuals will still be available in the used market for some time. It is just that at less 10 percent there will never be very many of them.
But even today when I am on the road I only use the clutch for downshifts once I am out of first in my car. Gas engines are a bit harder to downshift without a clutch. Plus with all the sound suppression on new cars you can't hear what the engine is doing to tell just when to push the stick into gear.
I should say that up until last weekend that was the case. I sold my last manual when I picked up the GMC 2500.
The fall in the US dollar is another complication. Attention Euro Fanboys: Better Buy Now! (Karl on Cars)
Up until the Aura/Vectra and Astra I don't know of any Opels GM has used in the US. That may just be my own ignorance.
Same for Ford. Again, may just be my ignorance.
As to trucks, I drive a Ryder truck on many weekends (equipment truck for my sons marching bands). These are 24' full size diesels (not sure which class, but the are big honkers, same cab height as a semi).
They range from 1995 model internationals to new Freightliners (air brakes, the works)
All but one have been auto trannies. Not the best shifting bunch (althought the new ones drive like a Buick for the most part).
They used to have some sticks. I got one lat year, and it was the worst thing I ever drove. Even had to return it.
CLutch was shot, and the tranny was like rowing a broom stick in a bucket of rocks and oatmeal. Couldn't even tell what gear, if any, you were in.
Obviously led a hard life (about 175K on it) with people that couldn't drive stick. A new clutch might have helped.
Still, I notice that the same type of truck that are regular commercial are usually manuals. Probably cheaper to buy, and lower running maitenance costs.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.