3 on the tree is so easy to drive, same H pattern just on the column.

 

It's too bad, kids today will never experience the personal satisfaction of slipping a transmission with an unsynchronized low into first without grinding it or clunking it. It took skill, you had to slip it in while the truck was still rolling slightly. Grind it once and you'd get heckled from your buddies! (Maybe some day those gears will be made out of rubber, just for you!)

For that matter, most young guys have no idea what a "granny gear" is and how to use it.

 

Granny low is a godsend especially for offroad in conjunction with 4 low. Just hope the new autos with 8+ gears will be low enough in first gear for off road to almost feel like a granny.

 

The old farm truck , put the youngest kid behind the wheel . Put the truck in low take off and jump out . He then guided it around the field while hay was loaded . Told him to turn the key off if there were any problems . Never had any .

 

I grew up on automatic transmissions. Can't even remember any vehicles my family had that were manual, even before I was born. Before March of this year, I had only driven friend's manual transmission trucks around hunting camps, and never on the street.

I bought my 03 Ranger in September 2010. It had the 5R55E garbage can, with just 42,000 miles. Two weeks after I bought the truck, the O/D Off light of death started flashing. Three years and numerous small issues later, the transmission burned clutches together and felt like it was always under load.

I got tired of messing with the automatic and found it much more cost effective to just swap to a manual trans. Started the swap on Saturday morning, and had it finished Sunday afternoon. Now, keep in mind I had never daily driven a manual transmission anything before then. All I knew was that I had to be at work at 6am Monday morning. Buddy of mine and I took the truck out to a large open field where I spent an hour just getting the feel for a manual trans. Stalled it a few times on the way to work the next morning, and once on the way back. Stalled it about 4 times throughout the rest of the week by just not paying attention.

Now, two months later, I couldn't be happier with the truck. Driving a manual transmission vehicle makes me feel like I have more control over the truck, and it's not consistently hunting for gears in between stops. Swapping to the manual was one of the best things I have done on that truck, and I don't foresee another automatic transmission in the near future.

 

Im 20 years old and everyone i knew had automatic and didnt know much of existence of stick shift in trucks untill after my old man convinced me into getting stick in my next vehicle, now that I have had my 92 f150 a little over a month I love it and think I will stick with manual trans for the rest of my life untill convinced otherwise, learned it pretty quick (live in mts so much fun learning, stall galore) would be nice if it were an option in the new trucks, nothing beats the feeling of shifting.

 

I'll say this much for learning to drive stick, I don't recommend learning in a VW. There clutches are unforgiving and its more frustrating to learn on that then it would be in like a old Saturn or Honda.

I'll also say that an older turbo diesel with a manual just sounds so much better than an automatic. Just from personal experience and taste. If they brought back the manual for the F150 line even if it was for the V8 or Egobooster it would be worth it. When I have priced out brand new Jeep Wranglers with an auto or manual, the 6 speed manual was about $1500 cheaper than the automatic. So being a cheaper option to buy plus generally being cheaper to fix over a modern auto...it just makes sense. Fuel economy is roughly the same. There's just a learning curve that give it a few hours to a day or two and you'll have the hang of it.

 

The automatics that were built in the 80's and 90's were pretty poor. I drove a feww in my early years, and then switched to manuals. I still hve a soft spot for the manual trans, but these days, the automatics are just so good.

 

Manual in a jeep? No thanks....

Much rather have a torque converter when wheeling than slip the clutch

 

I was just pointing out the fact that they are still cheaper upfront to buy them.

 

I'm a young guy 23 and I can use a granny gear and can drive tranny's with unsynchonized lows but I do happen to agree with you 100% I have an 01 F350 with the zf-6 and I love it but kids today and a good chunk of older people cant drive a stick at all and its a sad thing because I tend to have alot more fun when I can shift my own gears

 

i'm 25 and we have a few classics with manuals, a '56 Bel-Air with 3 on the tree and a '76 Vette with a 4 speed. I drive both on nice days and they are fun..for awhile. I can handle a stick without issue, upshift, downshift, hill start..you name it. I also moved alot of heavy duty trucks around at work. We also have two other classic's with 3 speed autos and i enjoy driving them more...

Now, with that said? I HATE manuals with a passion. I will never buy anything with a manual in it. We have paid to rebuild our fair share of Auto trannys over the years (2 of them in my '96 explorer...partly due to a bad rebuild the first time) most recently the 4 speed in my grandpas '04 f-150 with 78k miles kicked the bucket...$2800 later she was back on the road. After putting a programmer on my Trucks and when they get rebuilt putting a shift kit in i'm very happy with my old 4 speed autos. the 6 speed in my soon to be 2011 f-150 is such a HUGE improvement it will be an interesting thing to get used to all that shifting (glad i can lock out the gears i don't want)

With today's traffic and phones, ipods, 324782759 radio stations, and every other distraction we have going on other then driving, i don't know anyone who wants to shift gears.

 

I have a 1963 Grand Prix with a 4 speed. I removed all distractions except the AM radio. It usually isn't on anyway. The music comes from a 421 CID tripower engine with dual exhaust, slightly dampened by glass packs.

Cell phone? Can't hear it. Distractions? Just that grin on my face.

 

I assume that you have never autocrossed or road raced, or taken a performance driving class, and it sounds like most of the sticks you have driven are "agricultural quality" experiences. A smaller, fun car like my '91 BMW 318is, or a Mini Cooper, Miata, etc, is just a "chick car" with an automatic.

Many in this new Millennial generation are ADD distracted button pushers who can and do spend hours and hours texting on miniature Chinese electronic devices but are clueless when it comes to operating a real machine like a car with a stick because it's "too much trouble" or too hard to learn. And it is hard to take a selfie of yourself while driving a stick. A friend of mine passed by 2 young girls who had a flat by the side of the road. Before they opened the trunk, they had to take a selfie of themselves by the flat tire.

Is there an iPhone app for learning to drive a stick?

My 26 year old son refuses to own any car without a stick, so there is hope.

George

 

22 and love a manual transmission will be swapping out the auto in my 78 for a manual soon. most people my age hardly know what im talking about when i say i drive a manual. i guess it will be hard to steal a manual car or truck. with all these people who will never know and pass it on.