Are manual trannys old school, out of style/function?

There use to be benefits to a manual transmission that just aren't there anymore. You can get better MPG and reliability etc. out of the new age of Autos. I prefer a manual in a sports car, in my truck I don't care.

 

The option for the manual is what got me looking in 2010, and it's what brought me back in 2015.

The Teacoma blows away the Frontier, and nothing else comes with a manual option. If the new Ranger was out and a manual offered I'd have been taking a hard look at it.

I drive an auto for work, wife drives an auto... just blegh. I want the car in the gear I want, when I want. Don't try and preach about the "manual select" or whatever shift modes. Blegh. It's not even in the same ballpark.

The shift feel/throw in the '10 was fine, and the shift feel/throw in the '16 is hardly longer/softer than the '14 WRX I just sold. It's quite nice.

 

I enjoy driving a manual, car or truck. The more HP, the more fun.
Besides, a manual is a built in theft control these days.

 

Would love to have a manual again but Honolulu traffic is too damn ridiculous.

 

True that!

 

The manual was a big reason I ordered a Tacoma. I like manuals because they engage the driver. Sadly, many Americans don't want to have to think. And, many parents don't want to have to teach their kids.

 

This is so true. When I had my Manual 2nd Gen, I always had to drive the truck out of the car detail shop ad other places because the kids there couldn't drive a stick!

LOL

 

I dunno, every auto we had in our construction fleet has been fussy. I am still on the original clutch in my Tacoma that has 312,000 miles on it. The wife's auto in her SUV is starting to act up at 90K miles, probably cost me $3-4 grand to fix. That damn GM/Isuzu partnership....figures, the only thing non-Japanese part in the vehicle is that damn GM trans....

 

Actually...think you only need a picture of a car, for an millennial anti-theft device. Seems like the most I have come in contact with, don't even know how to drive...

 

LOL, what maintenance? A new clutch every 250k, maybe? Also, have you ever worked on a transmission?

 

A truck should be a truck.

Manual transmission, manual transfer case, manual locking hubs, solid front kingpin knuckle axle, manual windows, rubber in the floor, CB mic hanging from the rear view and a rifle rack in the rear window.

 

I prefer manuals myself.
Driving 1 hour each way (not much longer!) in stop/go rush hour traffic had me using the car a lot more. This was especially true of my 2007 MT CTD 3500. Then I had a 2013 SR5 MT. It took some getting used to from a 1 ton MT, but I didn't think it was "clunky or cumbersome." In fact, it felt really light comparatively speaking.

2016 is an auto since my wife very much dislikes MTs.
I don't miss it as much as I thought, but last time I was sans MT, after about a year I needed to go back. Hopefully one day I'll trade our 3rd car for a MT.

 

I was with you for a while there until you got to the child's radio. Ham baby, that's where is at when you desperately need to reach out and touch someone. Also, about that last item, real men don't need umbrellas.

 

Higher rate of issues with the MT in 2nd gen Tacomas than the AT also less MPG.

 

I drive a 2013 TRD OR 6-speed manual and wouldn't have it any other way! I love it! Making driving and wheeling more enjoyable, IMHO.

 

Wow!! This really took off. I've never had issues with the clutch in my '93 4X2, 4 cyl. I've hauled lots or firewood, mud flaps dragging on the Forest Circus roads and all, hauled manure for the garden. Pulled a trailer with a little Kubota tractor across Nevada to my home in N CA, lowest gear I got into along I-80 was third. A truck needs a manual. Looking forward to seeing the stick in my on order Taco. Thank y'all for the comments.
Duane

 

I'm 24 and chose manual. Salesman tried swaying me into an auto until i made it clear it was m/t or nothing.

Very happy with my 6 speed.

 

Auto transmissions are just one more symptom of Americans getting soft. Manual transmissions still predominate in Europe. They only have ATs in rental cars for American tourists I'm told.

If people just quit buying Tacomas with ATs Toyota would get the message in a year or two. Sure it'd be a small sacrifice but out country was build on the sacrifices of brave Americans.

 

Bull, you may have to replace the clutch every 250K or so depending on the driver and conditions but fluid changes last twice the service length as auto transmissions, most autos are recommended to have the fluid replaced at 50K (30K under sever duty) where manuals have 80-100K service intervals.