M/T, it's slowly becoming a unicorn

in HS i managed the local course's golf cart barn, about 80 of them. madness! and a few rolls on the driving range iirc.

 

Even motorcycles are going to autos

 

Ha, I could imagine!

 

There's also the fact that not all body styles are offered with a manual. For example you can no longer get a DCLB with a stick in any trim...for someone that wants a Taco with a couple of kids that also needs a 6ft bed that'll trump what transmission they really want. I think this heavily biases the "we only sold X% with manuals" argument.

 

There's such a driver shortage, and the trucking schools only teaching on automatics just to get more women or the ones that can't drive manuals. Manuals are slowly going away

 

Hah! One of my military buddies did that on a golf course with a few of his buddies one night in a teenage fit of immaturity. $20k+ in damages. Judge gave him the option of service, or The Service.

 

Guess they're getting ready for the trucks to drive them selves, even the computers aren't smart enough to drive manuals.

 

wrong

 

Ya know all this makes me think of an episode of "Chasing Classic Cars" with Wayne Carini. If anyone's unfamiliar, it's a show on the Motortrend network on TV. He finds all kinds of old antique cars and bikes, usually in barns or forgotten garages and the like.

Anyway, one time he happened upon an old Indian motorcycle, forget how old, maybe 1930s or something. But he was explaining all the different adjustments and whatnot available to the rider, while riding, stuff like fuel mixture and maybe even ignition advance, but the point was that it took some skill to ride the thing. You didn't just hop on and go. You had to have some knowledge of mechanical systems, you had to be able to diagnose and troubleshoot on the fly, and you had to spend some time with the machine and kind of form a rapport with it, get to know it.

Of course with modern technology you no longer need to adjust spark or air fuel mixture on the fly. It's certainly more convenient these days but I think having intimate knowledge of the machine you are operating is not a bad thing.

I personally don't like how modern cars try to disconnect the driver from the machine. Now we have blind spot monitoring, electric parking brakes, and cars that drive themselves. I dunno, I just don't like it. I like the feeling of operating a machine and being in complete control of said machine.

 

KILL THEM HYBRIDS



full electric fine but not as close as news media wants you to think

 

$20k?!?!?!?!? PLUS?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? LOl holy cow I bet its a helluva story!

 

My unicorn


5 sp manual AC

 

I have mixed feelings. the backup camera is pretty darn nice. Rear cross traffic alert is sometimes annoying but also likely to prevent pedestrian mushing or parking lot crunches.

 

Yep. Shredded some greens and I think a few carts in the lake.

 

Yes the camera is nice! I added it to mine a few years back. But you still gotta use dem mirrors!

 

The average consumer could care less so auto makers sell what sells the most. Plus with all the modern emissions things, manuals become more of a chore to drive. (rev hang for example)

My WRX is fun with the manual transmission but its so much easier to drive an automatic. An automatic is just so much quicker at low speeds (and all out too) than a manual, smoother too.

 

Automatic's are for the lazy and crippled.

 

Hardcore man

 

I’ve actually given some thought to whether it will make sense to eventually upgrade my ‘16 to whatever the final year manual Tacoma will be just to extend things that much further out.

My goal is to get 15-20 years out of the truck, but if they don’t have manuals available then, what do I do?

I mean I’ve got the Vette for now and whatever I replace it with (300ZX? I dunno) that will be manual, but I truly enjoy driving it, traffic and all. I have k my had one automatic vehicle which was my last Tacoma and even driving that I found myself often wishing it was a manual.

The funny story I like to tell is my family would always make comments about me driving manuals only and asking what happens if you get hurt and/or break your foot so you can’t drive it. Well, when the time came to snap my ankle in half and require a plate, screws and surgery, I simply broke my right foot.