Those with Manual Transmission...why?

By 1996 if you wanted a manual in a GM truck you could not get air conditioning. Then GM says "look, nobody wants manuals." All 4 of my early S10'S were manuals but my 2000 ZR2 is an auto.




.

 

This is one of the reasons why I felt good buying brand new: I voted with my wallet to show that there’s still demand for manual cars and trucks

 

My wife's 3rd gen is an auto and I will say driving in bumper to bumper traffic in Denver and Pheonix for hours I was definitely wishing I was in her truck. That being said I don't go to the city very often so it's a seldom issue. Living in the city an auto would be way nicer for sure. I remember my '96 power stroke had a granny gear so in traffic I would just idle at one speed while other cars were going and stopping over and over. Miss that granny gear in the older trucks...

 

I used to do that as best I could in my car. Then I got smart and found a new route that was farther but took less time because traffic always flowed well.

 

Before the taco I had bought a manual 15 focus new as an economical commuter. Putting in 150+km/day commuting into the city; usually 40mins of bumper to bumper on the way home. Being a manual was never an issue with slow to stop and go traffic; I think this is more of a problem for people that follow too close. On the fuel economy side of things, the AT was rated to do better than the MT. I still did better than the AT rating by a margin. The AT that i had as a dealer loaner for a week did worse than the AT rating on the same commute.