Bring back the manual tranny

[92rado]

I love the 5speed in my old 92 but if I was to get get a new truck it would prob be a auto. The new autos are awesome transmissions and are very reliable. Plus My wife could drive it at anytime. Would I miss my manual? Your damn right I would! It's still a lot a fun every time I drive the 92.

[Morgan1986]

Mike I think you bring up the best points so far and for the most part they are 100percent true but a the same time you might not have fun driving manual trucks but I do . The f250 91 was easy , the 2000 f350 was easy my 60 year old mom drives that around for a daily driver towing her 3 horse trailer with living courters in it . and my 1500 05 silverado manual is easy . The automatics ive driven (have not driven a new heavy duty auto) have felt like i was just pushing on a pedal and i would go faster or slower and would rev up alot somtimes when i would not want it to. Knowing my speed can be problems maybe becuase all ive driven for most of my life is a manual drive vehical. So sorry if I find its hard for me to have a hard time gaugeing my speed in a auto with my ever increasing heavy foot on long drives. One thing i dont get is why semi trucks are not all automatic if the automatics are better with power out put. I dont really lose power when shifting if i plan ahead . I will admit tho auto do shift faster but somtimes they stay in a lower gear when i dont want it or stay in a higher gear when i dont want it . I enjoy pushing in the long clutch and big shift patter on trucks .

[MikeNH]

I didn't mean that manual trucks are hard to drive, they're just not enjoyable/fun to drive. The long throws and huge clutch pedal travel just take the fun out of it. Even it little econobox Civics and especially VWs, the manual trans is very slick and enjoyable to use, even if the car is slow as hell. As for commercial trucks, I have extremely little experience driving them and one of when I did was it for business but I'd bet it comes down to cost. If I'm a fleet buyer for some huge logistics firm and I'm buying a few dozen rigs, that added cost of the automatic is going to get it tossed out the window. And in smaller companies, the bias of how lousy HD automatics were in years past play a role.

[Morgan1986]

yea but if semi truck drivers did not have to learn to drive like a 15 spd manual . They could pay them alot less becuase there would be less work involved and there higher level of training and skill would not be needed . just learning how to move a heavy long truck would be needed .

[MikeNH]

Shifting is the easiest part of the unique skill set a truck driver must have. I've driven a split shift and it takes a bit but it certainly isn't hard. Driving a huge vehicle safely around other (clueless) drivers is probably the toughest. I drove a large box truck with a split shift gearbox on a wide open road on private property, I couldn't imagine throwing that damn truck around in a major city though.

[cracked_up]

yea but if semi truck drivers did not have to learn to drive like a 15 spd manual . They could pay them alot less becuase there would be less work involved and there higher level of training and skill would not be needed . just learning how to move a heavy long truck would be needed .

 

There are an awful lot of new semi's coming with Alisons today. Some still need a clutch to start and stop but shift auto.

[ironhead3fan]

All the vehicles in my house are manual transmission, except for the truck. Having the automatic in the truck is nice on days where my shoulders are not feeling up to the task.

[jro909]

i do miss my stick shift (5 speed s-10 tahoe 4x4) it was great, loved the symplicity and control but stick shifts are a dieing breed...hell even high end sports cars are going to paddle shifters, autos are more efficient now a days and most drivers don't know how to drive with two feet...

 

anybody else let off the gas when the truck shifts lol i got that habit still even with an auto

[ShoddyHog]

I've got six gears in the GTO...and don't skip a one of them.

[Morgan1986]

I must just love doing things the hard way and shifting my to some people not so great stick shift lol . All i can say is I love it . Maybe i wont like it when i am older just turned 25 like 2 weeks ago. I just like the feeling of puting the clutch in shifting into first leting the clutch out smoothly and punting in a bit of gas with out even thinking it . I stalled once this year practicing a bit on a icey hill and starting off in 2nd (to not make the tires slip ) and wanted to try that ebrake thing for the limited differential and lock the two tires back up . I like that feeling when I am behind someone and want to pass them i have to make a decision to drop a gear and then go by them. I like that feeling when i am going down steep hills in the rockeys mountains and i see peoples brake lights light up and i am just holding it in 2nd or 3rd depending how fast i want and once in awhile just lighting taping on the breaks . I like the feeling that my girl friend lol cant drive my truck and ruin it lol . I hate when I am in city trafic (rarely) and its just stop and go stop and go on a steep hill . I hate when i am tired sleepy and girl friend cant drive becuase she does not know how to drive a stick . but i still love my stick shift . to me its more involveing . I find i am a more carefull driver when i drive stick most likely becuase i have to make a decision every time i want to move or go faster or slower I am always thinking 2 steps ahead instead of reacting or being at the moment . I find myself slowing up knowing there is no point to speed up to a red light just to slam on the breaks . manuals can be a pain in the arse but I like them and i guess most people dont care for them and yes auto is prob better but just becuase some things are better does not mean i enjoy them as much .

[spkrman57]

One of the best reasons for me liking a 5 spd manual is having a truck with "1" wheel drive and no weight in the back gives better control with the road than a auto tranny in the Ohio winter weather. You can't "feather" a automatic like you can a clutch when the roads get slippery.

 

Also I don't like front wheel drive vehicles either. I guess I'm just a stubborn old fart!

 

Regards, Ron

[whizbanger1]

I stole this from another auto vs manual thread.

 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cd0w4LAEwuU

 

EXACTLY.

 

[Morgan1986]

So basically on that vid was person A wanted to know what else the car offered and Person B just went on about the stick shift and that is all and made of the the idiot that was person B that just went on about the stick shift . So "EXACTLY" what are you meaning whizbanger. That all stick shift lovers are morons ? because yes i know i kinda put blinders on my self because that is my fav part of the vehicle if its a stick shift and kinda for get about to me the other less important things like if it has leather or not . The only thing I disagreed on the vid was it portrayed that everyone can drive a stick that is not true at least in North America most of my friends and people i know cant drive a stick . They can all learn i am sure easy in like a day but for some reason they feel like they are going to ruin the car/truck or get kinda scared of it . I think the reason why I am kinda annoying/loud about this subject is that i see that stick shifts are going to be not around really soon and when something you love apart of a vehicle is becoming no more you get louder and louder about it .

[Morgan1986]

http://www.starkeith.net/coredump/2005/01/30/manual-vs-automatic/

 

a interesting read .

[whizbanger1]

Only the ones that think manual trans are super techno cool are morons. The ones that go on and on about how much better manuals even though autos have quickly closed the gap. Manuals are dead, deal with it!