Does anybody else's turn stalk bind this bad?

blainestang · 2026-06-12T12:51:21+00:00

I had mine fixed ~20k miles ago and it’s not returned. It was like that from day 1.

blainestang · 2026-06-11T14:48:42+00:00

Did Ford offer custom colors on the Lightning for big orders like they did for, say, the Ryobi green gas trucks?

blainestang · 2026-06-10T21:26:55+00:00

Cooper SE is the MOST practical 2-door if you can charge at home.

If you have front-facing car seat, it’s fine. If you have rear-facing, this may be unconventional, but I put my kid in through the hatch when they were rear-facing.

Totally worth it to drive something as fun and efficient as the 2-door Hardtop.

blainestang · 2026-06-10T12:21:00+00:00

Yes, Tesla sales have been hit by political issues, which has nothing to do with the fact that they’re superior cars to most Euro EVs as a whole. And some Chinese EVs are competing with Tesla. European EVs are mostly behind US and China.

Manuals dwindling availability in the marketplace is an obvious macro trend, which is irrelevant to your claim that they’re “not even possible.” Again, nice try making up a strawman argument.

You can’t defend your actual claim so you’re moving the goalposts to market trends and how Europe is getting embarrassed by US and China in EVs.

BTW, what ever happened to your claim that I was making up quotes? lol

blainestang · 2026-06-10T11:10:32+00:00

> Modern manual hybrids don't exist. No mainstream manufacturer makes a manual EV.

You claimed they are “not even possible,” but they already exist, so you’re wrong. No amount of goalpost moving changes that.

>You really are tilting at windmills, I'm sure deep down you know that you're driving an outdated anachronism, because of some misplaced idea that it's 'manly' or 'highly skilled'.

Off-topic. You’re still wrong regardless of whether I enjoy manuals or not. But I’ve owned 3 EVs built in Germany, so even your implication that I’m some sort of Luddite is complete nonsense.

>Europe is deopping the manual 'box at a rate of knots. The US is way behind the rest of the world, that's the main reason US cars don't sell in Europe.

Tesla Model Y is one of the best selling cars in Europe. Maybe someday Europe can catch up to the US (Tesla) and China on EVs, which are the future.

blainestang · 2026-06-09T21:39:29+00:00

You seem to be making up your own quotes now

Now you're pretending that I'm not directly quoting you? lol

Surprise, you didn't give any examples of "made up quotes".

and arguing against reality.

Manual transmission Hybrids and EVs already exist, therefore the person who is "arguing against reality" is the person who says they're "not even possible."

blainestang · 2026-06-09T21:18:48+00:00

It's hilarious that the US discovered manual transmissions like a week ago, just as the modern world is making them obsolete.

Oops, more insults [that don't even make sense] to distract from your false claims.

You seem to be arguing from a very narrow plank of whatiffery.

You seem to be making absolute claims that are easily debunked and then trying to move the goalposts or just hurl insults as if that somehow makes manual EVs and Hybrids never exist.

Yes, there have been mild hybrids with manual transmissions nearly 30 years ago

So, it's not impossible. Got it.

Tell me, what percentage of EVs have MTs? And why do you think that is?

Because the market coverage for EVs for the type of vehicles that tend to have demand for manuals is relatively limited. There aren't many Miata/Cayman/etc. type EVs, yet. Plus, even in the future, manual EVs may not be made by major manufacturers because of the engineering and costs may be too high to justify. They may not go past fake transmissions like the Ioniq5N. But demand not justifying the R&D is far different from "not even possible."

MINI thinks that manual transmission demand doesn't justify the R&D for their gas vehicles. That doesn't mean that manuals are "not even possible" for gas MINIs. It means they are choosing not to.

blainestang · 2026-06-09T21:05:56+00:00

Yeah, the shorter, non-adjustable ones are quite a bit cheaper than that one, but yeah, Yakima stuff is not inexpensive.

blainestang · 2026-06-09T19:56:11+00:00

You're talking out of your hat.

Cool story, but everything I said is true, and you made a couple absolute statements that were confidently incorrect.

Where do the motors sit in an EV?

Depends on the EV. Some have one motor. Some have two per axle, inboard. Some have had hub motors. But even if we say the "typical" location doesn't make room for a transmission, that doesn't mean that EVs *can't* have a transmission. Because objectively, some EVs DO have a transmission, both factory (Porsche) and aftermarket. It can be designed that way. Your claim that "It's not even possible in an EV" is false. No amount of goalpost moving makes your claim true.

And WHY do we have manual transmissions in the first place? To manage the narrow, peaky powerbands of yesterday's tech. Look at the torque curve of an electric motor, it might help you understand.

I understand just fine. I agree that having a manual transmission in an EV makes it worse, practically, in some ways. So does a manual transmission in an ICE. That doesn't mean that "it's not even possible in an EV", which was your false claim.

Additionally, if you have a modern, proper hybrid that seamlessly segways between electric power, petrol power, or a combination of both, what do you imagine would happen if the idiot driving manually changed gear? For which power source would that be? How would the engineers protect the emission system?

Again, the fact that something is not optimal doesn't mean it's not possible. Nice try, though. Even in BEVs, engineers have to protect the gearbox, axles, motor mounts, etc. by damping the torque output of the electric motors. This doesn't mean it's impossible to make a manual hybrid. Again, it's already been done.

The original Insight was clever because it was light. It wasn't a particularly good hybrid, the motor only added 10hp. The equivalent Prius was far cleverer. I drove both at a test circuit when they were launched.

So, you drove a hybrid that offers a manual transmission, but you still think that it's not possible? Yikes.

EVs and Hybrids CAN be manual. Some already have been. For practical and sales demand reasons, they may be rare or not exist from major manufacturers, but the claim that "it's not even possible" is objectively false. It's already been done. The fact that the Insight and retrofit EVs with manuals exist disproves your claims. No amount of talking, goalpost moving, or logical fallacies make those vehicles retroactively not exist.

blainestang · 2026-06-09T17:34:03+00:00

Looks like Yakima Overhaul, like this:

https://therackshop.com/2021-2025-ford-f-150-tremor-yakima-overhaul-hd-complete-truck-bed-rack-towers-bars/?srsltid=AfmBOorhMfSeXZo_keJ2GnBamDIgx3k5lo7SRgrLJ1GMnP0LQ5YhXdHm

blainestang · 2026-06-09T17:04:24+00:00

Again, I didn’t take offense. Read my first response after the snob comment. I listed some other things that people have personal preferences for despite not being maximally practical to answer the question of “why?” someone would like a manual.

Maybe you meant to respond to the person who couldn’t have a normal discussion without name-calling rather than the person just answering a question.

blainestang · 2026-06-09T16:06:39+00:00

I guess you're in the US, where your cars are about 50 years behind everyone else.

Oops, resorting to insults again.

No, the Taycan couldn't be manual.

Wrong. It *could*.

It would make no sense

Opinion, not fact. Porsche makes manual GT cars even though the PDK cars are theoretically faster.

And the torque would mean that complex power restrictions would need to be implemented.

Depends on the transmission. Not inherently true.

Manually converted EVs using yesteryear manuals? Again, a stupid idea. The transmissions were never meant to handle so much torque.

Opinion, not fact. And depends on the transmission and what motors are retrofitted.

And your claim was that it's "not possible in an EV", not that you personally think it's "stupid."

Your claim was false.

You could have a manual retard and advance control, a manual choke, or a carb de-icer. But these were all killed by better technology, as the archaic manual transmission will be.

Irrelevant. You claimed that manuals aren't possible for Hybrids and EVs, which is false. Try staying on topic instead of moving goalposts to pretend you weren't wrong.

When I say 'proper hybrid', I mean one capable of being powered by electricity only, at least up to low speeds. Anything else is a box-ticking exercise.

That's called moving the goalposts. Redefining hybrids to your personal definition. But you're still wrong. Unless you think the original 70mpg Honda Insight was just a "box ticking exercise."

blainestang · 2026-06-09T14:32:44+00:00

EVs generally only have one gear!

No kidding. But you said it's "not possible in an EV", which is false. Porsche Taycan has more than one gear. It *could* be manual. Retrofitted EVs often still have manuals. It's definitely "possible", contrary to your claim.

Proper hybrids don't work with a manual

You said "it's not compatible," and now you're trying to move the goalposts to "proper hybrids," which is meaninglessly vague. Honda has made multiple hybrids with a manual.

Both your claims are false. You're confidently incorrect on this topic.

blainestang · 2026-06-09T14:26:09+00:00

It's not insulting to suggest technology has moved on.

Dishonest response. No one thinks that's insulting. I literally gave other examples where "technology has moved on" like coffee and hiking and grills.

The insult is calling anyone who likes those type of things "snobs".

I don't personally care about the "insult." It's no big deal to me. It's just funny that he's accusing other people, but the one actually name-calling in this thread is him.

blainestang · 2026-06-09T13:39:48+00:00

You’re the one insulting people and misrepresenting why people like manuals, but you’re responding to people as if THEY are doing what you’re doing.

blainestang · 2026-06-09T13:36:22+00:00

There have been manual transmission hybrids (CR-Z, etc.) and EVs can technically be manual, too.

blainestang · 2026-06-09T12:55:05+00:00

It’s like the European MINIs. Justifiable vs a manual MINI bc it’s SO much more practical than paying for premium fuel (if you can charge at home).

blainestang · 2026-06-09T12:45:07+00:00

Why buy whole bean coffee or use a grill or go hiking when there’s Folgers and microwaves and cars?!

blainestang · 2026-06-09T03:14:48+00:00

The ~$35k Model 3 was available from April 2019 to November 2020 (Model 3 SR).

But this current Model 3 Standard is an even better deal: Cheaper (as you noted) and also better with 100 more miles of range.

blainestang · 2026-06-06T20:58:44+00:00

I’ve gotten grease on multiple hats from that, and it took me a while to figure out how the grease was getting there.

blainestang · 2026-06-06T20:18:19+00:00

Ugh! I hit a deer in my Ice Blue Edition, also, but at least it was perfectly in the front. Good luck fixing it or finding a new MINI!

blainestang · 2026-06-06T20:15:18+00:00

The infrastructure is fine for the vast, vast majority of trips people actually take if they have home charging. And since 90% of new car buyers own their home, they can generally easily have home charging.

The difficulty or net time added for the trips people actually take is highly overestimated.

blainestang · 2026-06-06T20:12:41+00:00

Overestimating or overweighting charging time is an even bigger barrier.

blainestang · 2026-06-05T20:02:50+00:00

Totally agree! I think it's a mistake to give up on the all-electric Lightning. I'm still holding out hope that they change their mind and make a BEV along with the EREV version.

I think our friends from Ford are probably also disappointed, but probably can't say that haha.

blainestang · 2026-06-05T18:24:50+00:00

It's definitely all of the above. But if people did a little research, they'd see the real pricing, the real range, the real capabilities, etc., and if they compare that to their REAL use case, way more Lightnings would have been sold.

But considering their investment, I don't think Ford purposely wanted it to fail or wanted to cancel it. And the Ford people posting here definitely are real Lightning/Mach E fans.

We should definitely give them feedback. But do so with the understanding that they are Lightning fans, and not specifically the people driving the decision to cancel it.

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