Quote
Kaegi
I think the cars have been getting better and better for many years with a few exceptions like the disasterous 2.7 engine. and the caliber was a mistake and they should have just kept refining the Neon. the trucks seem to be having some issues the last 6 years or so they shouldn't have. like water pumps failing at 35K and some other declines in acdcessory parts failing. and not fixing the lame ass ball joint front axle in the 4x4s. and not offering the 4.7 in 1/2 tons. and not having stick shifts available anymore except with diesels the auto only thing is ridiculous to me. I still think there is 1000s of buyer out there that would prefer a stick. enough to justify offering one.

Under Daimler, the cars were "de-contented" the interiors were cheapened, fabrics and material quality was lessened and small things like ball joints and body mounts were cheapened, all in an effort by Daimler to cut corners and costs. The results were hard plastic interiors, increased NVH (noise vibration and harshness) and generally poor quality products, barely suitable as rental cars.
Manual transmissions are a function of buyer demand. The take rate on manuals is less than 10%, in fact the Dodge HD trucks, Jeep Wrangler and Challenger are just about the only American made vehicles left with manual transmissions. Partly because of women drivers, stop and go urban drivers and because of increased fuel economy from automatics.
This Summer will see 6, 8 and 9 speed transmissions that are 14% more fuel efficient than past transmissions. These dual clutch transmissions will be manuals, but shift like automatics, computer controlled. Like it or not, it's the future.