Just drove a brand new 2015 Ford Transit full size van w. CDI TD M6 9 passanger van for 3 weeks as a rental In Europe, it had the hill roll back prevention, in steep uphill if I had to stop the brakes would not release until I started to roll ahead, so I stepped off the brake and slowly on the gass and the brake held until I started to roll. Great feature for a manual.

 

Learned on a manual, all I have ever owned are manuals, my wife drives a manual ('08 Mustang GT/CS), my kids both know how to drive and own manuals.......

I'm sorry, but driving isn't really driving if its in a automatic.

Very sad day indeed.

 

Drove (in the 80's) 4 speed unsincronized army trucks from the 50s in the Hungarian army, actually I ended up teaching off road driving for the newbies on my last 3rd therm. You had to double clutch all the way up, and gearing back: clutch, gear out, gas, clutch, and gear down switching back.
I also drove taxi for 2 years in Europe with an East German Wartburg 3cyl, 2 stroke 50 HP with 4 on the tree. I took over a minute to reach hwy speed with that POS

 

Not for me. I have had all Fords except for a jeep cherokee. The 01 Windstar was the newest at 60K miles now with 180k. First repairs were wheel bearings, ball joints and tie rod ends at 160k and then intake manifold gaskets at 175k. The 96 F150 I got with 110K sold it at 153k with no repairs needed. The 00 Escort @ 133k miles currently with 157k on it. Did tie rod ends, ball joints and window motor when I bought it, got a hell of a deal because of those needing done. I now need to replace struts. I had a 93 Ranger bought with 110k that made it to 160k before it needed a water pump and then a starter. The M5OD made it to 190k before it kicked the bucket. I had a 89 Bronco II that I got with 160 K that had never been worked on that I sold at 195k. I overheated it when the radiator hose blew and it cracked the heads at 180 and had full motor rebuild done because the mechanic we had at the time we found out is an idiot and well that's another story. But anyways, I would call all of the above good examples of being pretty reliable. Every Ford I have had has made it to at least 160k before needing any major work done on it if at all. Most of the stuff I have had to replace is stuff that just gets worn out over the life of a vehicle and should be expected when you buy vehicles over 100k miles. A minor repair here and there beats the hell out of having a monthly car payment. Now lets hope my trend continues with the 02 F150 that I recently bought with 167k miles.

 

I'm on the same page with you Adam, while I haven't purchased a lot of used vehicles, the company trucks I drive a base F150 XL models, they all went above 150K (some a lot more) and never needed any major work done at all, I currently have an 08, prior to that I had an '03, it never even had a brake job and had 186K on it, the only thing other than routine maintenance was 2 coil packs when the plugs were changed. The trucks are used in the oilfield services industry so they have a hard life, and my employer leases the truck thru a fleet management company that does as little as possible to keep them running. That alone had sold me on Ford trucks. So far I haven't ever been stranded in one.

 

Hard to text and drive with a manual.

 

In Venezuela they still "produce" (0 this year because the government is absolutely inept), but you can find 2011-2013 F250s and F350s with manuals, probably ZFs, but they're attached to the current gen 6.2 V8.

 

Venezuela doesn't have a monopoly on "inept government". Look at the idiots we have in DC.

 

Forgot about brakes. The Windstar has had them done twice now and the 96 F150 and Ranger had them done somewhere around 120k. Brakes fall under the category of planned maintenance. My wife's lead foot and cheap brake pads are bad combination. It's all ceramic pads for her from now on.

Bringing this thread back to transmissions, I have never had a single problem with any of the auto trannies I've ever had. The ranger tranny failure was the M5OD as posted previously and the 5 speed in my Escort is on it's way out. I do mostly highway driving with it so I think I can baby it and make it last, but it takes away the fun factor of having a 5 speed. Now if only an SVT Focus 6 speed manual would bolt up to it, then we'd have something.

 

I mourn the loss of the manual. I had one in my '91 Ranger and I currently have a '98 Explorer with a manual. I bought that to teach my kid how to drive a manual transmission and it made me realize how much I enjoy driving something with a manual tranny.

I hate to say it, but my next vehicle will probably be a Jeep and I've been a die-hard Ford guy. Wranglers are available with a manual. And you can still get a 2-speed transfer case and honest-to-goodness part time 4WD. Just the way God intended.

Other people I work with have gone with European cars just so they could get a manual - VW, Audi, BMW. Manual transmissions are becoming hard to find now even in European cars. Five years from now, you might not be able to get one. I think Honda gave up on the manual a few years ago.

 

That anti-roll back feature that someone mentioned seems like something that should be standard on ALL manuals. That right there would give me more of a reason to buy a manual with that feature. I'd bet that would be the same with others too. Even if they took the clutch peddle out and just used an electronic clutch like in some BMWs have, that probably would also bring some people in.

My dad who grew up in the 60s and 70s use to drive manual a lot. Last pick-up he had with a manual was an old '76 D100 2wd. Its been a few years since he last drove a manual and he told me that the next time he'd have to drive a manual he would need some time to get re-acquainted with it. He also said that he probably would not buy another vehicle with a manual since he is getting up there in age (early 60s) and the fact that some drivers on the road are a bit impatient.

Just the other day at work I had to take a 2010 Mustang GT with a supercharged 4.6L out for a drive to get the TPMS light to turn off (not knowing the owner never had the senors never put back in on a new set of rims). When I got to a light to turn I was creeping forward to go and a person behind me in a Cobalt was getting impatient and honked at me making me nervous and I ended up popping the clutch and stalled in the turn lane.

I have been thinking hard about getting a manual but they seem to give me more reasons not to buy one. If there wasn't so much traffic or I was more seasoned I'd probably go with one. But as of right now I'd probably just stay with autos. Even if I was doing a project truck or engine swap like I have been planning on doing I'll just settle with an automatic and get a standalone controller and program workable shift points. Probably be cheaper overall for a manual conversion but...seems like no matter how much I practice I cannot do it to save my life.

 

I bought my F 250 brand new in May 2003
It has a 5.4 L / 6 speed stick and manual locking front hubs, it gets 22 M.P.G when it's not loaded or towing.

As it sits with 46,000 (pampered) miles
The salesman that I bought it from tried to talk me into an automatic trans/automatic hubs-with the electric switch for the transfer case. He said the automatic trans would be better as far as resale value.
I ordered my truck exactly as I wanted it and have no intention of selling it.
This is what an F 250 4x4 was equipped like when I was a kid.

 

^^nice truck for sure!!

 

I just read the part about swimming...i can drive a stick but i cant swim

 

Seems like manuals are dying everywhere. Look at the trucking industry, a lot of newer trucks are moving from Eaton-Fuller 10-18 speed unsynchroed manuals to automatics. Some brand new Volvo trucks have automatics. So I guess soon as semis come standard with an auto that's when you truly know its a dead art. They phased out twin sticking to single with a low/high on a single shifter now to automatic.