Manual Transmission

[bombast]

Im guessing you bought the hybrid. MPG had nothing to do with my vehicle choice and never will. Gas is about half the price of bottled water even at $5/gal. I see a innovative vehicle with with smart styling and a Im not like every other boring car attitude.

Yes, but even the Ecoboost is about restraint. It's still a small, relatively efficient engine for what its doing. Its only as big as it has to be. And everything else about the Ecoboost is the same as the Hybrid - A vehicle just large enough to meet the drywall requirement; just tall and wide enough for comfort; just as well equipped in the cabin as necessary to not leave you thinking you bought an early 2010 vehicle. Restraint is more than gas efficiency.

Also, where in the hell are you getting your bottled water, because they are screwing you over. Hard.

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[mla_anderson]

I don't have it in front of me, but traditional transmissions overtook manual transmission in fuel efficiency in consumer vehicles, on average, sometime in the late 2000s, and have rapidly outpaced them ever since.

I stopped in a Subaru dealership in 1994 and questioned a salesperson about their window sticker, it had the automatic listed with better mileage than the manual. That's when the transition started, I suspect you're right that it completed in the late 2000s.

 

[cavemold]

I don't think its needed for smaller trucks. Bigger diesels trucks like 350 etc.. Maybe... Automatic is just more efficient. Times are changing that's fact of life , in 30 years gas cars maybe be close to afterthought.. Lots still in play obviously but technology is always changing.,

 

[StillWaiting]

many Prius and Ford escapes have surpassed crazy miles in their life time (hybrids). I think it depends on the maintenance, type of use, and quality of build.

 

[Maverickman74]

Yes, but even the Ecoboost is about restraint. It's still a small, relatively efficient engine for what its doing. Its only as big as it has to be. And everything else about the Ecoboost is the same as the Hybrid - A vehicle just large enough to meet the drywall requirement; just tall and wide enough for comfort; just as well equipped in the cabin as necessary to not leave you thinking you bought an early 2010 vehicle. Restraint is more than gas efficiency.

Also, where in the hell are you getting your bottled water, because they are screwing you over. Hard.

Go to any store and buy 1 bottle of water, thats the price. I dont ever touch the stuff. I will almost never drink out of plastic.

I think you arw just desensitized a bit. We are talking about a truck that in stock form could keep up with any Mustang Gt built before 1998 unless they had a manual.

 

[bombast]

Go to any store and buy 1 bottle of water, thats the price. I dont ever touch the stuff. I will almost never drink out of plastic.

89 cents a gallon for water last I checked. Cheaper if you get it in 5 gallon jugs, cheaper still 5 gallon refillable jugs.

I think you arw just desensitized a bit. We are talking about a truck that in stock form could keep up with any Mustang Gt built before 1998 unless they had a manual.

That's a function of technology marching forward (And Mustangs being a bit of a barker not a biter), not of the Maverick's design team aiming for the bleeding edge of performance. The Hybrid blows my 2005 Impala out of that water too, but that's because the 3400 V6 was a hunk of shit, not that the Hybrid is a monster performer (Though it is much spiffier than I think most realize. Every time someone rides with me their taken by surprise).

 

[Maverickman74]

89 cents a gallon for water last I checked. Cheaper if you get it in 5 gallon jugs, cheaper still 5 gallon refillable jugs.



That's a function of technology marching forward (And Mustangs being a bit of a barker not a biter), not of the Maverick's design team aiming for the bleeding edge of performance. The Hybrid blows my 2005 Impala out of that water too, but that's because the 3400 V6 was a hunk of shit, not that the Hybrid is a monster performer (Though it is much spiffier than I think most realize. Every time someone rides with me their taken by surprise).

If they are taken by suprise then it is definitevly not all about restraint.

Just because technology marches forward doesnt mean something isnt true in the real world, it doesnt change historical fact. My point is that the Maverick didnt have to have the 2.0 it could have had the 3 cylinder as its base and the hybrid as the top model. They might have lost 5% of sales. But they gave it 250 freaking horsepower in a 3800lb truck. Think about all the cars over the years, Mustangs, Camaros, Corvettes, nearly every japanese sport junk before 2000 or so. If it sold in Europe as is today it would be sport truck! If Ralph Nader looked at this truck in 1970 he would have shit another book, whole!

 

[MavDave]

I’m 32. Could care less about a manual. Tried to learn how to drive one at 16 and realized how silly it was compared to the automatic.

Cars/trucks get me from A to B. That’s all I care about. Automatic does me just fine, just like 90% of consumers.

 

[MavDave]

If the Maverick would have had the 2.0 EB with the tow package and a 6/7 speed manual I would have reserved one on day 1. Instead of waiting and getting killed with markups later

 

[Scott Asheville]

My manual transmission 2010 Ranger is parked outside right now as I patiently wait for my Maverick (I have never owned a personal-driver auto transmission car in 50+ years of driving). I've accepted that not only are manual transmissions dead, but transmissions in general are dying. The electric age is upon us. They have a reduction gear, and you don't change it.

One of the great moral victories I've had in recent years was gifting my old manual shift Miata to not one, but two college nieces consecutively. That's two young ladies who will have a treasured manual-shift memory in the coming age of whirring turtles (most EVs look like turtles for aero reasons, though they don't move like turtles).

 

[AdventureSetterland]

Walking the dog yesterday and there was a mid 80s Dodge Dakota parked on the street. Looked to be a base model with a 5 speed manual and two wheel drive. Have you noticed that those are the trucks, the basic ones, that survive? Those are the trucks people keep for 35 or more years?

Seems to me that Ford should be looking at offering a manual transmission. Of course I'd also love to see a plug in hybrid version. If I had to bet on one of those, I'd bet we see the plug in hybrid drive train from the Escape and don't see a manual.

I ordered a hybrid but was on the fence. Say in a theoretical world that a manual had been available on the Ecoboost, I would have gone that way. Wish that there were more vehicles available with a manual transmission these days. If the option was there I would take it 100% of the time if it was otherwise a CVT or conventional automatic.

 

[Landric]

I would absolutely buy a manual Maverick even if the only engine option with the manual was a turbo charged 3 cylinder in a base trim. I'd also be really excited if the same truck was available as a regular cab with a longer bed. Best little truck I ever owned was the Mazda B2200 pictured to the left. I would love to be able to replace it with a modern version.

If I was buying a car today (as opposed to a truck or SUV) it would either be a Honda Civic Si or a Hyundai Elantra N Line. Either choice would be with a manual transmission. I accept that the manual is going away but I don't like it and I never will. Drive modes? I've had those since I started driving in 1988 with a clutch peddle and manual gear selection.

 

[JRoddi.]

I don't have it in front of me, but traditional transmissions overtook manual transmission in fuel efficiency in consumer vehicles, on average, sometime in the late 2000s, and have rapidly outpaced them ever since. Modern CVTs (Of any type) and even high-gear count automatics have utterly destroyed manuals.

I've seen people say this is only true because companies stopped innovating manual transmissions in the early 2000s, but that just begs the question "What exactly are you supposed to innovate on a system that's primary appeal is that a human being does 90% of the work?"

I hear your logic. However, gearing designs, variable-style gearing, electric control modules, advanced paddle shifters, and various clutch modifications could have been developed with appropriately allocated funding, advertising, and consumer/customer interests and requests.
No matter. It's just where we're at in the market, now.

 

[JRoddi.]

The federal gov.'s 2025 mandates for more efficient MPG had to have an influence on use/trend for vehicle manufacturers towards automatic transmissions. A software driven automatic transmission, especially on EV vehicles, on a drive train will always shift faster, more efficient and more MPG friendly...proven over and over.

I admit, I miss my Porsche PDK automatic manual (to the left) but as an automatic it allowed the driver to paddle shift or gear shift up or down...and let you think it was like a manual transmission...but if you leave it alone it always shifts faster than the driver at down and up shifting if left in automatic mode. If you are at 80 miles an hour in a Maverick and press the brakes hard, you will find the automatic greatly contributing engine braking/ stopping power., that is not there in a manual transmission. There is a reason 83% of the Porsche sales last year were, by (performance oriented) customer choice, automatics (PDK).

I agree with most of what you say, except about stopping power-
(If you are at 80 miles an hour in a Maverick and press the brakes hard, you will find the automatic greatly contributing engine braking/ stopping power., that is not there in a manual transmission.).

I would say that anyone that has experience driving a manual would be able to utilize downshifting, breaking, and adjusting engine speeds to control vehicle speed and control that would rival just about any automatic, in fact, unless the vehicle has regenerative breaking, I would argue that an standard automatic applies almost zero breaking, as they are usually programmed to allow the vehicle to cruise/coast for the greatest fuel economy and reduced transmission wear.
Some diesel trucks (F250 ^, 2500 ^ series GM and Dodge Ram) may have tow assistance not found in common passenger vehicles. Some track racers would also disagree with your stance on the speed and accuracy of up/down shifting as desired, especially during a competitive driving situation.
Anyhow, Edge Haley, thanks for the dialogue! Have a good day.

 

[RR - All the way]

I would absolutely buy a manual Maverick even if the only engine option with the manual was a turbo charged 3 cylinder in a base trim. I'd also be really excited if the same truck was available as a regular cab with a longer bed. Best little truck I ever owned was the Mazda B2200 pictured to the left. I would love to be able to replace it with a modern version.

If I was buying a car today (as opposed to a truck or SUV) it would either be a Honda Civic Si or a Hyundai Elantra N Line. Either choice would be with a manual transmission. I accept that the manual is going away but I don't like it and I never will. Drive modes? I've had those since I started driving in 1988 with a clutch peddle and manual gear selection.

My manual transmission 2010 Ranger is parked outside right now as I patiently wait for my Maverick (I have never owned a personal-driver auto transmission car in 50+ years of driving). I've accepted that not only are manual transmissions dead, but transmissions in general are dying. The electric age is upon us. They have a reduction gear, and you don't change it.

One of the great moral victories I've had in recent years was gifting my old manual shift Miata to not one, but two college nieces consecutively. That's two young ladies who will have a treasured manual-shift memory in the coming age of whirring turtles (most EVs look like turtles for aero reasons, though they don't move like turtles).

I think it is great that your nieces have the treasured memories of driving a stick shift. I learned to drive with my mothers car: 53 Chevy with "power glide"!!! However I lived on a farm and drove tractors with manual transmissions for about eight or nine years so I thought it was no big deal.

Back in the days of the military draft, I was inducted. Long story short, after about four months I found myself in an army camp perched on the side of a mountain in South Korea, assigned as an ambulance/ medic driver. At that stage, a recruit thought a Sgt. was a God. I was afraid to tell my Sgt I had never driven a straight stick vehicle before. The ambulance was an M-43 like you may have seen on Mash. To say they were difficult to shift is an understatement. , I started up a small road with an upgrade of about seven or eight percent and killed the engine about half way up. An angel or dumb luck was with me as I got it restarted and made it to the top. After that I did not have any more problems

Since then, I have had a straight stick mustang, Datsun truck, Toyota truck and Honda civic.

Fun, but I really do not want to go back!!!

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