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Why no manual transmission option in light trucks?


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Dear Ford:

 

I drive Fords exclusively. The thought of driving something else makes me sick. Over the years I've had several Rangers, Explorers, F150s, and one F350. One thing I always insist on having is the manual transmission. It appears that Ford has now left me at the alter and doesn't care. My last new Ford was a 2011 Ranger (XLT extended cab 2.3L/manual). That was apparently the last light truck Ford made with a manual transmission.

 

Why can't a manual be offered as an option? I'd pay extra for it. It can't possibly be a business reason; Ford could design/procure one manual transmission that could go behind every gas engine offered in the F150-F350 (think of the old ZF-5/ZF-6 behind everything from the 4.9L six to the big 7.5L V8 or 6.8L V10). Even at a 5% take rate (below industry average which is closer to 10% on models in which it's offered) that would be 10s of thousands of units per year. Surely that would pay for the minor engineering changes necessary for the provision of a clutch system in the existing trucks.

 

Is it because of warranty fears with a clutch? The warranty on my 2011 Ranger excluded the clutch. I've also noticed that the tow ratings are significantly decreased with a manual transmission; even on the old stuff. This never made any sense to me. All my manual Ford trucks easily pulled the full automatic rating - no slipping the clutch or other undesirable operation. My clutches always hold up a long time too, usually at least 200,000 miles. Many automatics end up needing a rebuild in that many miles. In summary, my experience with several Ford trucks is that the manual transmissions hold up better than and pull at least as much trailer as the automatics.

 

Is it because of driving performance? This is where the manual shines. Having a clutch gives a whole new dimension of control of the truck at all times and is the primary reason I insist on a manual transmission. Trying to ease the truck over a ledge in the pavement? The torque converter in an automatic is like a rubber band in that situation - you have to slowy creep the throttle up until it moves but then its hard to stop instantly due to the rotational interia of the converter. With the manual you just hit the clutch which instantly decouples the drivetrain from the engine. Same thing on a slick road with a trailer when you start to slide- hit the clutch and everything straightens out in a hurry.

 

Is it fuel economy? You simply cant beat the power loss through a manual gearbox with its inherent gear-on-gear nature. The same attributes (bands, hydraulics, etc) of an automatic transmission that allow the truck to not move at idle cause it to have a higher inherent power loss than a manual tranmission. Given the same final drive ratio (simply a matter of ratio of the top gear), the manual will necessarily do at least as good as an automatic. This is simple physics and there is no way around it. Trying to argue against this is like trying to defy gravity. While the EPA window stickers often show higher fuel economy for the automatic, it is either because of differences in gear ratio or because the PCM was designed to shift the automatic specifically to perform during the EPA test. Real world results show that you can't defy physics and manual transmissions have lower power losses and thus better fuel economy.

 

Every other major US truck maker (GM, Ram, Toyota, Nissan) offers at least one light truck with a manual transmission. Ford has not offered one since 2011. While not a large share of the market, there are some of us that simply refuse a buy a truck without a manual transmission. Does Ford want to sell trucks to us? Or must we take our business elsewhere?

 

Please don't insult me with a reply that Ford's automatics have a "manual" setting. My brother's 2013 F250 has that feature. It's a **** poor excuse for a clutch pedal.

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I worked at a Ford/Chrysler dealership for 6 years. I've been working at a GM dealership for 9 years.

 

I can count the number of manual trans trucks that come in our shop in one year on the fingers on one hand, Just slightly more back in the Ford/ Dodge days. They're just not out there!

 

You're a dying breed, come to the realization! I don't hate manuals, but I don't love them either. Hell, semi tractors are going automatic.

 

Our freight delivery drivers Freightliner is an auto.

 

I just left the Ram site, show me the 1500 Ram with a hook in it!

 

Show me a Tundra or Titan with a manual.

 

Don't bring up mid-size, they're used as cars with beds more than the half tons are. With the new GM twins you can only get the stick with the 4 cyl.

You and I both know the take rate is going to be low.

 

Buggy whip manufacturers were pissed when the car ran them out of business. It is what it is.

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Pure business. Even if there wasn't a horrifically low take rate (fleets stopped buying manuals at least a decade ago and 10% is awful generous) you FAR oversimplified the costs. Lets look at them.

 

Cost 1. Emissions certification.

Each powertrain variation has to be certified with the EPA and also with Green states. These include axle ratio change, engine, 4x4 or 4x2, each wheel base, each GVWR, even supplied tire combo. So for sake of argument, you have 4 axle ratios, 4 wheel bases, 3 engines, 4 tire options. That's 192 certifications with each entity, without GVWR changes. So after all that, adding a stick doubles that again.

 

Cost 2. Crash testing.

Each powertrain has to be re-crash tested with NHTSA. Doubling crash testing costs IF they pass the first time through.

 

Cost 3. Software.

Each powertrain takes unique software for it, which now not only includes PCM, but BCM, IC and all the various other modules that are integrated to do even the simplest tasks. Doubling costs for software, let alone control module hardware changes.

 

Cost 4. Mechanical.

Besides the trans itself, there are mounts, control assemblies (pedals and whatnot), engine changes that are not just limited to the flywheel. Different starters, different separator plates, even sometimes different crank sensors balancers, exhaust etc. Different driveshafts, different floor pans. Different insulation materials. Due to the machining necessary, manuals are expensive for the manufacturer to purchase because they are almost always not made in house. Therefore costs cannot be directly controlled and rise significantly. Automatics are cheap and currently, by Ford, are all made in house so manufacturing costs are precisely controlled there. The current generation of red fluid autos are also all joint venture boxes so development costs were halved.

 

5. Service.

With all the mechanical costs, you have legacy costs. These include warranty repairs and customer pay repairs that you have to have parts available for. This requires more part numbers, more warehousing, more handling and increased parts cataloging costs. Then you have service information costs along with training your repairing technicians on the new things.

 

6. NVH.

I don't think there is a manual trans made by anyone anywhere that meets the NVH goals for F-150 or even Super Duty for that matter. Developing ways to minimize NVH is a HUGE burden financially. When you cut another hole in the firewall for the clutch then a BIG bastard in the floor pan, its going to take some wizardry to reduce.

 

In short, enjoy your new Dodge HD, Frontier, Tacoma or 4 banger midsize GM cause Ford NAAO is just not going to build what you want.

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And for the record, I drove manuals exclusively for 13 years including 2 rangers and my future mustang will likely be a manual. I love manuals but not in a daily driver. They no longer offer better fuel economy so there is no CAFE incentive.

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No need to get personal guys. I understand that Ford is a business and makes business decisions. My point in posting this here is to make Ford aware that there are buyers out there who absolutely insist on a manual transmission. Currently it looks like I've got three choices (GM, Toyota, and Nissan) for a small 4 cyl truck, Toyota and Nissan for something a little smaller than an F150, and Ram for the HDs. Clearly there is some market for manual transmissions in light trucks. I hope that I am able to buy a Ford truck with a manual in the future.

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I wasn't looking for comments from the peanut gallery. This is directed solely at Ford's management. Does Ford want to sell me trucks or not?

 

When you post in a forum on the internet, you will get comments from the peanut gallery! :stirpot:

 

It would appear at present, Ford does not want to sell you a truck. :rant:

Edited by danglin
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All Good Points to make about manual transmissions. I am going to date myself now but in 1979, I sold manual transmissions to Ford light truck, Ford heavy truck, Ford car and International Harvester Truck for the Borg Warner Corporation.

 

We made The T18/ T19 creeper four speeds, the T5 for mustang/ Camero/Firebird.

 

In that time frame, Ford, was limited in the number of automatics they could make so many of our sales were a result of that, not driven by pure demand.

 

I think at that time, the manual rate was somewhere in the 15% range but included everything, cars and all trucks.

 

Bottom line is over time, the automatic transmission got better and each time we added a gear, ie 4 to 5 to 6, we sold less and less volume.

 

Borg Warner saw the writing on the wall and sold what was marketable , the T5 and T56 production and intellectual property rights to Tremec in Mexico because the total manual volume/sales volume could not justify the resources and capital employed

 

Likewise, even in medium truck, class 5 thru 7, Dana got out of the business and Clark transferred what little volume that was left to Brazil and later sold the businesss they had in Brazil to Eaton Corporation.

 

During this 1970 to 1985 time period, the cost of making manual transmissions actually were higher than making automatic transmissions.

 

Now the only manual transmissions made in this country are for class 8 tractor trailer trucks and over the next 10 years we will see these products morph into twin clutch automated manual transmissions.

 

So, Im sorry you can't buy a manual but the products out there today are fantastic with an automatic transmission attached. Just wait for Ford's Ten speed automatic!

 

Edsel Ford

 

.

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That's some interesting first person experience. What about ZF? They were the last supplier for Ford trucks. They are German and Europe still has significant demand for manuals so I would expect there domestic business is doing ok. Seems like they could still sell Ford their product.

 

Another option would be to expand the old GM-Chrysler New Venture transmission business to include Ford. Then all three could pool their resources to produce a common transmission and save on development costs.

 

As I said in the original post, I would be willing to pay a premium for the manual trans because the extra dimension of control you get with a clutch pedal is worth it to me.

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To Sevensecondsuv,

 

Yes , I have more first hand experience than you can imagine. The ZF 5 speed was manufactured in Georgia for Ford light truck ,ie F250/350/450 but the volumes fell as Ford's automatics added more gears, the costs skyrocketed, making the product non competitive in the heavy end of the light truck market.

 

I was involved in setting up New Venture Gear in 1990. It was done for many reasons but one of those reasons was to combine manual transmission volumes of Chrysler and General Motors, to gain economies of scale. It did this for about 14 years not just for manual transmissions but also for the very high volume 4WD/AWD transfer case requirements of the two companies. I recall we were producing 10,000 four wheel drive transfer cases per day at one time.

 

In 2002, Daimler, the owner of Chrysler decided that it was not a very good idea to cooperate with a competitor on products the customer doesn't see. In their infinite wisdon, the joint venture was broken up and in September 2004, the Chrysler piece was sold to Magna Steyr. I was forced into an early retirement and less than one year later, Daimler sold Chrysler to Ceribus. It was a good ride while it lasted!

 

Edselford

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That's the other thing I've been wondering about - since manual transmissions and transfer cases are very similar in terms of function, parts, and design, why can't transmission production be at the same plant as transfer cases? It's not like the industry doesn't make several million of those per year.

 

Again, combining resources from all three would make for a better business case. It wouldn't bother me in the least if Chevy and Ram had the same transmission as my Ford. It appears my other options are either keep the old stuff going or a one-off warranty voiding science project retrofit on a new truck.

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Again - it's not just the manufacturing cost. All the other costs involved with EPA certification, fuel economy testing, crash testing, etc. outweigh any possible profits for what would amount to a handful of sales. Dealers won't order them. They'd be more rare than SoonerLS's regular cab pickup.

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Reg cab pickup - haha. You know that's exactly the configuration I'd want my manual trans in. Anything less than an 8' bed on a full size is worthless to me. Start adding cab to that and the truck gets too long. I have other vehicles for hauling people.

 

I blame dealers as much as anyone for the decline of manual transmissions. I know they don't order them because only a certain percentages of drivers are capable of operating one. Unfortunately we all know how much easier and cheaper it is to buy from dealer stock than order an exact model. I talk to a lot of people that prefer manual transmissions but bought automatics because that's all the dealer had.

 

You have a point about epa and crash certification of every model. Still seems like they could just offer it in reg cab gas 4x2 and 4x4. That'd only be two extra models and probably keep most of us manual snobs happy. People buying the crew cab monsters for boat/camper and family hauling duties aren't the ones interested in manual transmissions. It wouldn't be necessary on the diesel either since the only application that actually requires that power level is over the road hauling, which the auto is more suited to. The challenge of designing a clutch to hold 850 lb-ft without being a grabby knee-breaker would also be avoided.

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I blame dealers as much as anyone for the decline of manual transmissions. I know they don't order them because only a certain percentages of drivers are capable of operating one. Unfortunately we all know how much easier and cheaper it is to buy from dealer stock than order an exact model. I talk to a lot of people that prefer manual transmissions but bought automatics because that's all the dealer had.

 

You have it backwards. Dealers stock what people want to buy. The demand simply isn't there. Anyone who buys an automatic off the lot because they didn't want to order a manual didn't really want a manual.

 

If you're a dealer and you stock a few manual equipped vehicles and they sit on your lot for a year, would you buy any more? Of course not.

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No these are people that actually prefer a manual transmission but aren't willing to pay MSRP to order one. Dealers are understandably far more willing to negotiate on something they have sitting on the lot. There just isn't any incentive for them to make a deal on a special order. So unless you have x plan or equivalent, you end up paying MSRP minus factory incentives. To those who prefer manual but don't insist on it, it ends up being cheaper and less hassle to just take the auto sitting on the dealers lot.

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Dealers realize they can sell an automatic to probably 95% of the buying public, whereas probably 50% of the buying public couldn't move a manual off the dealers lot even if they wanted to. Its no wonder dealers don't stock manuals. The result is that it's hard to buy what's not there, hence fewer and fewer manuals on the road.

Edited by Sevensecondsuv
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