all F series, all engines, and lastly, lastly all trim levels
oh and while your at it I want a f150 platinum standard cab or ex cab, long bed with said manual

 

but how many of those people that voted would actually buy a new vehicle?
the manual trans is dead because there is not enough demand to make the engine efficient with one.
now if 500,000 people would walk into the ford dealerships each year demanding a new truck with a manual trans, it might make a difference.


but that ain't gonna happen either.

 

Not BS...facts...if enough were sold in the past and it was profitable...Ford would offer it. 24 +/- respondents to your poll hardly represent reality.

 

like I said.....I've heard it put this way.....think it kinda makes sense.....dealers mostly stocked autos, and most just bought off the lot, and many disliked the auto but put up with it instead of demanding a manual. would reality prove different? perhaps but there's logic behind it. I for one own 2 automatic F-150s and prefer a manual. I'd love a manual truck, but an auto trans won't turn me from a truck I like. same if I bought a new F-150 tomorrow. maybe a poll don't always reflect reality but I notice a very consistent pattern. there are more people that want manuals than some, like ford, want to think. polls always seem to exaggerate though.

how many semi drivers like autos? that's not stopping an influx of auto semis, etc.

everybody pulls the demand card, including ford. I won't deny some level of truth, but there's more to it. emissions, etc. there always is.

 

I think this happens with colors as well. If all they have is black ones and you would prefer a gray one, most people would leave with a black one or just not buy. People tend to buy what is in stock.

 

exactly.

either way it's moot and they won't be back....I give it 10 years and there may be no such thing as a new manual in anything but perhaps a few very large trucks...if that

 

the only vehicle i took "off the lot" was my 88 because the engine blew on my 86 and i was able to roll into a ford dealership 300 miles away from home.
all other trucks were ordered or bought used.
and there are a lot more automatic semi trucks out there than you think there are.

 

far from everybody does it that way though.

as to auto semis, not sure what you're trying to say.....my whole point is that there are lots

 

I special ordered my F150 and F250 as loaded models with manual transmissions. I don't want an automatic so I plan on keeping the F250 forever. I needed something for running around that was a bit more economical than the F250. Rather than buying a wimpy new front wheel drive Explorer, I found a well preserved 1998 Explorer with a rare 5 speed stick. Even though I could easily afford a new one, I end up looking for used stick shifts on Auto Trader. Sad.

I am one of those who believe that a real truck has a stick shift. The demise of stick shifts is another casualty of the dumbing down of America, in addition to the out of control EPA.

 

WOW! If one knows how to use the new autos, then one actually has more control over his vehicle than he ever did with a stick.

My '88 had the M5OD and it was my third stick shift F-150. Never an issue mechanically with trans but it was a weak POS. The clutch was replaced at 101K when the engine was redone and it was weak at 250K when i sold the truck. Most guys I know ain't getting that kind of mileage out of a clutch in a 4x4 truck. The repairs and maintenance on the '88 M5OD have amounted to more $$$ than I've paid out on an auto trans with routine maintenance.

 

If you know how to properly drive a manual transmission and you are continously paying attention to the road, which you should be anyway, you will get better mug with a manual in every make and model. It does NOT matter what vehicle, a prius or a Semi. If it'S manual vs auto the manual will win in mpg. The problem is, everyone in America has become so damn lazy that theyou don't want to "Manually" do anything these days. And I didn't even touch on the reliability of a manual vs an auto..... automatics always cost an arm an a leg to fix and they will always need fixed, manuals normally just need a clutch if you know how to drive it

 

Demand is real. It's harder to sell used manual transmission vehicles at used car lots where what a new dealer would floor is irrelevant. I learned that early on. We'd buy manual trucks cheap at auction as body donors when we were building "one out of two" because we could sell autos easily.

If you want a manual, pay for a conversion. If you have enough fun money to buy a new truck at todays prices a few grand to swap trannies isn't much. When people REALLY want a thing they cough up the money and get that thing. That's how Cummins repower kits for Ford pickups took off and that mod is a lot more drastic than a transmission swap.

A start would be contacting Advance to inquire what the minimum group buy for a kit they don't currently make and would be reasonably likely to sell will cost.

Adapter Kits | Advance Adapters

 

as a "former european" and "former professional driver" ive (almost*) always driven (cars, busses and trucks) manual... untill now. its not so much for the towing as for the braking (on the engine) and fast turns (shifting down for better traction) that i would love to have my truck manual.

(*) city-busses have auto-tranny for obvious reasons. i once driven an iveco stralis with automatic transmission... it sucked big time!

 

I picked Super Duty trucks on up.

I vehemently dislike fluid transmissions in towing applications. I understand why the manuals are almost all gone, but my past experience with wear and tear on automatics in 1/2 ton trucks that do lots of towing tell me that I'm not wrong!

I guess a guy can still order a 3/4 ton Ram with either a gas V8 or a Cummins with a stick. I've got a sales flyer sitting on my desk somewhere. Makes me sick to think about, but my 2005 F250 with the V10 and ZF is getting up there in years. 200,000 miles of heavy towing and trailering and Ford is telling me I don't know what I want in my next truck!

 

Anyone who has driven a gas vehicle with throttle-by-wire and a manual will tell you to get an auto. Thanks to emissions regulations, basically all gassers have throttle-by-wire setups now, instead of the classic direct connection. This allows the computer to have more consistent control over the emissions. When throttle position changes quickly, a burst of HC and CO is released, so they intentionally move it more slowly. Slow throttle response with a manual means stalling, poor shifts, and a rough drive. Not fun.
So, we get automatics. Be glad they have gears and not CVTs. I've driven a few cheaper CVT equipped vehicles and they are terrible.
Now, I do drive a car with a manual, my truck has a manual, the truck I am building has a manual, and if it wasn't for space my van would have one too. Instead it's going to get an E4OD in place of the C6, with an extra lockup controller to give engine braking.