European Fords

Reply #30 – December 05, 2007, 09:15:45 AM

Has anyone here driven a late model Crown Vic and thought, "I've got to get me one of these!"? They're fat, heavy, numb, gas pigs, that are devoid of any kind of driving pleasure. My in-laws own an '04, and that thing is about third from the bottom of my list.

European Fords

Reply #31 – December 05, 2007, 09:18:38 AM

I could be wrong but I heard that Ford no longer offers a manual transmission in any full size truck. Same for GM.

European Fords

Reply #32 – December 05, 2007, 09:24:44 AM

Quote from: tbirdsps;191177

I could be wrong but I heard that Ford no longer offers a manual transmission in any full size truck. Same for GM.

Well this is America.....the land of the distracted, lazy drivers....

European Fords

Reply #33 – December 05, 2007, 10:02:28 AM

Quote from: V8Demon;191095

A look at what Ford Focus should come to the states: http://www.ford.co.uk/ie/foc_c307/foc_models/foc_model_st/-/-/-/-

It is available here, but unfortunately it's in Volvo trim. :(

http://www.volvocars.us/models/c30/Specifications.htm

Brent
:cougarsmily:

European Fords

Reply #34 – December 05, 2007, 10:32:54 AM

Quote from: BCA;191181

It is available here, but unfortunately it's in Volvo trim. :(

http://www.volvocars.us/models/c30/Specifications.htm

Brent
:cougarsmily:

Those are nice. I've seen a couple around. I dig what they did with the center instrument panel in the interior.

Quote from: Oldraven

Has anyone here driven a late model Crown Vic and thought, "I've got to get me one of these!"?

Most likely no....

Quote from: Chuck W

Man, you do have NO taste.

This made me laugh.

European Fords

Reply #35 – December 05, 2007, 10:37:24 AM

Quote from: oldraven;191176

Has anyone here driven a late model Crown Vic and thought, "I've got to get me one of these!"? They're fat, heavy, numb, gas pigs, that are devoid of any kind of driving pleasure. My in-laws own an '04, and that thing is about third from the bottom of my list.

I always thought it laughable when we were doing "performance" conversions on these lumps at KB's.

I even had to come up a CAI kit for one...

The SC ones did sound cool on the dyno though....but I sure as hell wouldn't want one.

European Fords

Reply #36 – December 05, 2007, 10:37:34 AM

Quote from: tbirdsps;191177

I could be wrong but I heard that Ford no longer offers a manual transmission in any full size truck. Same for GM.

Simply not true. A manual transmission is available on all Ford trucks regardless of size. Ranger, F-150, F-250, F-350, & F-450.
There are however some trim levels that do not have a manual transmission available, such as the F-150 in Lariat, King Ranch, or Harley Davidson trim.

Brent

European Fords

Reply #37 – December 05, 2007, 10:58:47 AM

Quote from: tbirdsps;191177

I could be wrong but I heard that Ford no longer offers a manual transmission in any full size truck. Same for GM.

A two minute trip to the Ford or GM website could quickly clear that up.

European Fords

Reply #38 – December 05, 2007, 10:59:12 AM

Quote

How many of us know people under 35 who want a manual tranny? Most, by my count.

I'm almost 40...and I still don't want one.

The only stick-shift in the family when I was growing up was my dad's old 1978 Chevy pickup with three-on-the-tree. My brother currently has two manuals: his first car, a 1980 Trans Am; and his '97 WS6 T/A. He won't let me drive either one LOL. I basically was never exposed to manual transmissions, never learned how to drive on one, never even had access to one if I'd wanted to.

When I was in my late 20s my uncle let me use his '89 5.0 5-speed Mustang for short test drives, so I could learn how to drive stick on my own. That was truly my first exposure to a stick shift. I really, really tried hard to like the whole setup. It didn't do anything for me except to piss me off. Gave the car back to him shortly thereafter.

The point is, stick-shifts are not for everyone. For me, personally, I don't want one. I'm not Euro enough LOL. For me I don't see the point of them, especially in short commutes and stop-and-go traffic, where fuel savings are negligible and the hassles are high. But I will defend to the death the right to have one available on a vehicle. Everyone should be allowed to have that choice. And the automakers need to listen to that. There will always be people that either want them or need them. So what if it's low volume...it needs to be done, period.

European Fords

Reply #39 – December 05, 2007, 12:14:14 PM

Quote

How many of us know people under 35 who want a manual tranny?

Date of Birth:
December 17, 1969
Age:
37

I'm sorry, but you don't fit within the parameters of our focus group. Your post will be stricken from the record................ if you choose to do so.

European Fords

Reply #40 – December 05, 2007, 12:22:33 PM

The only auto car I have (out of 4) is my euro Ford, the Scorpio...and I HATE it (the trans, not the car). One of ths things on the project list is to swap out the A4LD for a T5.
The only thing slowing that down is I need to mod the trans to get the shifter in the right spot, but it WILL happen.

European Fords

Reply #41 – December 05, 2007, 01:24:52 PM

I personally have a hard time considering buying a car unless it's a stick. Out of the 20+ cars I've owned ~90% were sticks and the only autos were deals I couldn't pass up.

European Fords

Reply #42 – December 05, 2007, 01:44:05 PM

Hey all,
Thought I'd jump in on this one. To comment on someone's suggestion that Ford and GM do not offer manuals in full-size trucks; I think that is a true statement "if" you throw in that it's a V8, 1/2 ton. The first year (or two) of Ford's current F150 style, they didn't even offer a V6 or a manual. That's why they kept the older bodystyle around an extra year and called it the 2004 "Heritage" model. If you wanted an '04 F150 with a manual tranny, you had to get the older generation. I'm not sure if they had the V6 w/ manual tranny out by '05 or not. Now when you throw in heavier duty models (3/4 or 1-tons or larger), they better not ever eliminate manual trannies. That would be royally stupid. My daily driver is a '98 F150 SuperCab 2WD, with a 4.6 V8 and 5-speed. I actually hunted this truck down intentionally because '98 was the last year you could get the Lariat model with a stick, in a 1/2 ton F150. From '99 and up, they came 100% with autos. I happen to like the optioned out Lariat model with a stick, maybe just because the two seem to clash. It's definitely rare; even though the 5-speed was the standard tranny in a Lariat F150 for '97 and '98, they must have sold very few of them or nearly had to give them away. As I was told from the original owner who I bought my truck from, it sat on the lot for almost a year before he bought it. He said that when they got ready to buy a new truck, he went to the Ford lot and the salesman told him he had a good deal on a truck that had been on the lot for a while, but then figured they wouldn't want it because he assumed the wife didn't know how to drive it. The man quickly told the salesman that his wife was a better stick-shift driver than he was, which probably made him feel about a foot tall.

Blah, blah, blah...... Didn't mean to go off on a F150 tangent so much, but the point is, some very large percentage (I wouldn't even try to guess a real number without facts) of Americans don't want to shift gears. I've begged my wife ever since I got my truck to learn how to drive it, and she refuses. I'll admit, my truck is not a "fun" stick-shift to drive. As a matter of fact, it can be kind of a pain in town and traffic. But I have no desire to get rid of it. I'll always want a stick in at least 1 vehicle at my house. I find myself trying to step on the third pedal in our '99 Explorer. Most people just think it's too much work or too much to have to think about (like my wife). I personally think everyone ought to at least have some degree of experience driving a stick. You never know what situation you might find yourself in. Once in college my girlfriend needed to be taken to a hospital in a hurry (no, not for that reason), and for whatever reason both my car and hers were down. Her friend offered to let us use her car and asked, can you drive a stick? I said "sure" (my only experience had been in an old Ford truck out in the pasture at the time, not on the road). Well, I faked it enough to get to the hospital and back, and hopefully didn't roast her clutch (I think it was a Mazda 323 or something similar).

Like someone else said, I can see manual trannies getting phased in this country after a while longer. You'll still get them in a tiny compact or some sporty models (Vettes and Mustangs, etc), but not much else. I don't think that's right, but I think it will happen. Just my 0.02.

Fordman3

European Fords

Reply #43 – December 05, 2007, 03:54:52 PM

Hopefully the new fuel economy mandate will bring stick-shifts back. 35MPG overall (including trucks and SUV's) is gonna be hard to meet without 'em...

European Fords

Reply #44 – December 05, 2007, 03:59:48 PM

Quote from: Thunder Chicken;191208

Hopefully the new fuel economy mandate will bring stick-shifts back. 35MPG overall (including trucks and SUV's) is gonna be hard to meet without 'em...

Now how are CVT's with regards to fuel economy? Better or worse than manuals? We may be getting one this weekend, and I'm wondering if I should wait until I can find a 5-spd version.