Fox T-Bird/Cougar Forums  

I love how people like to insist that Ford has no balls in the sense of pond skipping some of models,example the 99 Ford Cougar.

Hell, we can't even get a standard transmission in most models, and the few that do offer sticks usually only offer them on the base models/engines.

True, but you have to remember the interest most Americans harbor toward the manual transmission - zilch.
Ford could offer a joystick in most, if not all, of their models, but they would likely collect dust on the showroom floor.
People are lazy. They don't want to complicate their runs to soccer practice or Wal-Mart. Well, no more complicated than using a cell phone and fiddling with the satellite radio while driving.
I happen to think that this idea directly correlates with the growing obesity problem in this country. It's a long shot, but I think there's a connection.
Ford gave it a shot with the first run of the Lincoln LS. The V6 model could be had with a 5-speed manual, as you know. It was the first manual transmission offered in a Lincoln for half a century. That didn't last too long.
The only people who bid on those models on eBay are people like me. If I was in the market for a 4-door luxury vehicle, I would find a 5-speed Lincoln LS. Although, if I had the money, I would find a BMW 3 Series. Then again, that's domestic versus import.
Take a look at what Chrysler is doing. Can you get a manual tranny (not that auto-stick garbage) with the new Charger? Will they offer a manual with the new Challenger? I'd like to know, actually.

Companies like Ford clearly do a lot of research to see how they can position their vehicles to sell the most of them. If that means they will put a slushbox in most of the F-150s, so be it.
Aside from the Mustang, I think the last performance-oriented production vehicle from Ford to receive a true manual was the 1995 Thunderbird Supercoupe, and they made less than 500 with the stick-shift.

After all, that was the catalyst for my purchase of the '86 XR-7 - it had the T5 transmission.
I wanted to own a piece of clutch-driven performance-oriented Ford history from the '80s that wasn't a Mustang.

...And yet Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, Nissan, and the Europeans still offer manual trannies in most of their models.

People chose automatics because the domestic manufacturers make the choice for them.

...And yet Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, Nissan, and the Europeans still offer manual trannies in most of their models. Sure, less than 10% of Accords and Altimas are manual trannies, but that's a 5% boost to overall sales figures (just guessing that half of the manual buyers would have bought that model anyway if manuals were unavailable while the other half would have gone to a different manufacturer to get that manual). Coincidentally, import brands generally have better fuel economy numbers than domestics - I think the fact that they offer manuals and that manuals are more fuel efficient has at least some effect on that.

The problem with Ford (and GM) is that if they can't win in a particular segment they don't wanna play. If the vehicle isn't an instant, #1 smashing sales success they abandon it rather than improve it, and usually they stop making it altogether (witness the death of minivans from GM and Ford). Look at the Contour. Not a #1 seller, but it sold at least as well as (and probably much better  than) the first generation Altima. Rather than keep it around and improve on it, like Nissan did with the Altima, Ford gave up on the car entirely. Meanwhile, in Europe the car did get the improvements and is now a very respectable (and successful) vehicle.

The manual Lincoln LS was a failure, but then again the whole LS concept was, and the manual transmission offering was upside down - it should have been offered with the V8 model, not the V6. Actually, it should've been offered with both, but if they're only gonna give us one, make it the V8. The LS could have been a CTS competitor (which, BTW, offers manual transmissions in the V8 models) but as always, Ford neglected it to death.

Manual transmissions are not available from domestic manufacturers for one reason: Cost cutting. A manual transmission is cheaper than an automatic, but it costs more to offer that option. It's cheaper to build 'em all the same, especially when you can charge all of your buyers for that "feature" whether they like it or not.  People chose automatics because the domestic manufacturers make the choice for them.

As for Ford's market research: I think their current market share and financial situation prove how well that works...

Manual transmissions are not available from domestic manufacturers for one reason: Cost cutting. A manual transmission is cheaper than an automatic, but it costs more to offer that option. It's cheaper to build 'em all the same, especially when you can charge all of your buyers for that "feature" whether they like it or not.  People chose automatics because the domestic manufacturers make the choice for them.

Can you get a manual tranny (not that auto-stick garbage) with the new Charger? Will they offer a manual with the new Challenger? I'd like to know, actually.