"Widespread" love. There will always be hobbyists. The manual transmission has widespread love. People buy less of them because outside of sports cars they tend to be offered in cheap econoboxes or in configurations nobody wants (i.e. 2WD, 4-cylinder Chevy Colorado before even that was phased out...)
I still have a sort of love for all of those things, and still know how to do all of it because I have to. And it's becoming a lost art.
Nothing wrong with that. I agree. Part of what forced this style of engine control to disappear were government emissions mandates, and CAFE requirements. At this time, nothing is forcing the hand of manufacturers not to offer a manual. And there is no reason "progress" cannot exist right alongside nostalgic pleasure, in this case. Would it have been so hard to offer a GT500 manual, along with the DCT? Or a Corvette manual along with their automatic?
Is it less people that want it or less MT offered? If the lot only has autos in the higher trim levels, people tend to settle just like with color or other options they may want vs need. Why is a certain song played over and over on the radio? It's usually not because it's good. There is a point where things are force fed to consumers and that's the issue I have. I want more options, not less, when it comes to something like a car that we spend a bigger portion of our lives in.
I was just merely pointing out that some feel the soul of a car relies on it being a manual when there are so many factors. I'm sure a stick car with 150hp and mushy suspension and brakes probably would meet the soul criteria.
I agree 100%. But that also applies to "soul" The "automatic cars have no soul" comment is a ridiculous statement. I had cars with both types of transmissions. Some had soul, some didn't. Had nothing to do with the transmission.
Its all part of progress. In the 70s stick was the way to go. The automatics were terrible. Now the autos have come such a long way that things have reversed, however, its always subjective and it doesnt diminish the "soul" or "fun", but that too, I guess is subjective.
I don’t mean to pick on you specifically about this, but Im curious about how folks here are you going to feel when their Mustang is an all-electric transportation module with self driving and maybe optional fake “vroom” noises (that’s the Mustang part) when they tell the nav module to proceed to destination before they take a nap. It’s the unavoidable March of Progress. So’s the electric, transmissionless SUV that is currently masquerading as a Mustang. I don’t disagree with you but I don’t like it. Maybe I’m getting crusty.
Well, they didn't do it, so apparently so
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Like everyone else, I'll have to deal with it. I won't like it but if I have no choice, I'm not going to lose any sleep over it. I bought my current GT/CS because I wanted my last great American V8. I plan on keeping it for at least ten years. That's also my reason for the A10 (bad knee). I'll be 77 at that point and I'll see what is available in 2029. Hopefully there will still be a V8.
On my first car, the plug gap was settable using one of the matches inside the matchbook cover you were using to gap the points.
You look at the prices of Wranglers lately? $80K for a Jeep! They make them to make money. If they didn't, they would not sell them.
Less people want it and less people know how to drive manual. Manual trans GT's sit on the lots out here much longer than AT. Ford isn't that dumb, if there was such a demand for MT cars they would build them. Fact is, dealers don't want them because they are harder to sell. (Well, before then pandemic that is).
