Posted on 03/26/2023 10:41:58 AM PDT by where's_the_Outrage?
Once upon a time, the manual transmission was the default transmission choice for a pickup truck. The automatic was a luxury option that robbed trucks of both power and mpg. But the final full-size pickup truck with the manual transmission (the 2018 Cummins-powered Ram) has come and gone. So who is to blame for the death of the manual transmission pickup truck? The truth is that increased engine torque, government regulations, and the capabilities of the average driver are all partially responsible. But at the end of the day, we killed the manual truck; automakers don’t offer manual transmission full-size trucks because so few drivers want to buy them.
The torque wars left manual transmissions in the dust
As a fan of classic trucks, every pickup I’ve owned has had three pedals. But I know every manual has a weak point: its clutch. And modern engines make a lot more torque, too much for the final generation of manual transmissions.
Take, for example, the first gen Cummins-powered Dodge Ram. The 5.9-liter turbodiesel I6 made just 160 horsepower and 400 lb-ft of torque. Classic truck fans know that the manual transmission available behind this engine is a great option and will often last as long as the diesel itself.
Fast-forward to 2018 and the Cummins 6.7-liter turbodiesel I6 available in the heavy-duty Ram made up to 385 horsepower and 930 lb-ft of torque. That’s a lot of power to put through a manual transmission. It’s no wonder that the 2018 engine in the stickshift Ram was detuned, making 35 horsepower less than the same Cummins in an automatic transmission truck (350 horsepower).
According to Cars.com, automakers could conceivably engineer a next-generation manual transmission capable of handling this much torque. But that would be a very expensive process.
(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...
Few young people or women can drive manual now
I don’t the power and torque defense btw
A manual transmission, AC, heat, and a radio is enough for me, preferably 4WD.
What I never saw many of were stepside bed models. I liked the Chevy and GMC styles best.
You haven’t really driven a car until you operated a manual shifter.
Man I would love to have that old four-on-the-floor again.
I learn to drive a manual transmission when I was about 9 or 10 years old....a 1963 B10 Allis Chalmers(Simplicity) garden tractor...then moved up to a mid 70’s Ford truck...3-in-the-tree with no power steering. I only weighed probably 140 at the time...felt like wrestling a gator.
I grew up on manual transmissions.
The 79 Chevy LUV started me.
A few Jeeps, K10, Nissan240 and the current 2016 Tacoma are manuals.
I remember cars and trucks with vinyl floors, AM-only radio, 3-speed manual, and no AC as recently in the 70s. Good reliable transportation. My baseball coach had his GM truck 6 cyl for 50+ years; only car he ever owned.
Today's cars and trucks are iPhones on wheels meant to be replaced when a new software generation comes out.
They forgot about basic function
So thankful that my father made me learn to drive on a manual. I was not happy, but he said it could save my life if something happened & my only way out was a manual vehicle.
I love & have a manual Kia.
Agree; the claim about engine torque versus clutches is garbage. Both manual and automatic shifters have clutches.
Lets put it to a test!! Take 1970 era 440 and trans/rear end and put it in a new charger. and vise versa... and lets see which one smokes the other!!
EPA did it. The testing protocols have always favored automatics, where the engine can be made to run in the optimum RPM range for fuel economy and emissions all the time. That’s why you’re seeing six and eight speed automatics now. A single-speed IC engine can be tuned to be very efficient and fairly clean. It’s the wide range of RPM required for direct drive of wheeled vehicles that makes them dirty.
Correct but still we have millions of Baby Boomers and maybe some people from Generation X who would prefer to drive it manually. I wonder if you can get it special ordered at the factory.
I made my kids learn to drive a stick in an old ford pickup.
It had a 460 in it.
You could put it in third gear and slowly release the clutch.
Without giving it any gas it would take off
I learned how to drive on a 1962 F-100 Three on the Tree.
Later in the article both the EPA and untrained drivers are mentioned.
I learned to drive a manual transmission on the hills of San Francisco in a 1957 Chevy Belair in the early 70’s
Proof that it is garbage.....Kenworth trucks.
They could build a trans that could handle any amount of torque and HP..
I am told that there specialty builders who will and do build manuals.
That said, I drove manuals for 70 years, but my last three pickups had/have automatics....Two Ford F350’s and the present Ramm 3500.
Fords were bad about the clutch going bad and locking the transmission at most inconvenient times and places.
I do think the Ford automatic transmission is smoother and superior to that in the Ram but overall I would never go back to Ford.
EPA did it. The testing protocols have always favored automatics, where the engine can be made to run in the optimum RPM range for fuel economy and emissions all the time. That’s why you’re seeing six and eight speed automatics now. A single-speed IC engine can be tuned to be very efficient and fairly clean. It’s the wide range of RPM required for direct drive of wheeled vehicles that makes them dirty.
Exactly. And that is why the right way to build an electric car is to build one with an onboard generator powered with an internal combustion engine. The engine can be tuned for that perfect sweet spot and vehicle speed would be controlled by the amount of electricity send to the drive motors.
Were it not for the stupid green monsters, I suspect that would have been the model.
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