In your May/June 2012 issue, I noticed a couple of comments about manual transmissions -- lamenting the scarcity thereof and expressing the hope that manufacturers will continue to supply them in new vehicles. I wholeheartedly second that hope! I drive a pickup -- a 2002 Dodge Dakota -- not only because I like the load space, but because the SUVs I looked at simply weren't available with a manual -- and that was 10 years ago. Given the option, I will not drive anything other than a manual. I've discussed this preference in a book I've written. While the book is mainly about flying sailplanes over the Australian Outback, there are several chapters on driving the fabulous backcountry road from Sydney to Narromine, NSW, where I flew for more than 30 years. As I mention, "One good reason is the vastly more precise speed control that a manual offers...this has a significant effect on one's ability to sensitively control the vehicle's speed in any situation. Ease up or press down -- the slightest right foot adjustment on the accelerator is transmitted immediately through gears and driveshaft to the rear wheels...depress the accelerator and the vehicle responds with an increase in speed exactly matching the engine's increase in rpm, without the delayed-uptake feel or engine overspeeding that comes with a 'slush box.' For spectacular acceleration, just change down a gear for extra torque, floor it, and the result is a neck-snapping upsurge in speed."
Jim Richards
Durango, Colorado
We understand manufacturers can get better fuel economy with a high-tech automatic in some cases that with a manual, but there is a level of control with that third pedal than you don't have with an automatic. If you like manual transmissions, odds are you'll drive them for as long as they're available. And we hope they stay
around for a long, long time.
UPDATE! Truck Trend's new long-term Nissan Frontier is a 6-speed manual. Our very own web editor Melissa Spiering, is a die hard manual driver and she insisted our 2012 Frontier had one. Stay tuned for monthly updates!
- Truck Trend
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you have a question or comment about any thing you've seen on TruckTrend.com, please email us at trucktrend@sorc.com.