ordered me a new dodge eco diesel today

Scooby074 · Jul 14, 2014

Look forward to hearing an update on mileage / other issues.

Congrats on the purchase. Too bad Ram wouldnt offer the diesels on "stripper" model trucks with manual trans to get the cost down.

Fordman1981 · Jul 14, 2014

Scooby074 said:
Look forward to hearing an update on mileage / other issues. Congrats on the purchase. Too bad Ram wouldnt offer the diesels on "stripper" model trucks with manual trans to get the cost down.

They (Ram) offer the Eco diesel in their base model. No one offers a manual trans in a half ton in the US. They are the only one to offer a manual trans in the 3/4 and up trucks.

3930dave · Jul 14, 2014

Subscribed.

I'm interested in all the new diesels, and am always impressed by Scooby's concern for the working girls !

Rgds, D.

Scooby074 · Jul 14, 2014

Fordman1981 said:
They (Ram) offer the Eco diesel in their base model. No one offers a manual trans in a half ton in the US. They are the only one to offer a manual trans in the 3/4 and up trucks.

Not here.

SLT is the lowest trim that has the EcoDiesel option.

I know that Ram is the last of the Manuals on the larger trucks. I was wishing they offered a stripped out (yup Dave

) manual, diesel 1/2 ton.

Heck, I wish all manufacturers still offered manuals in the 1/2 tons and larger. I prefer a manual trans. Next time I might have to build my own truck from parts to get it the way I want... wouldnt be the first time I did that

2458n · Jul 14, 2014

Started out with a big engine in a old Ford truck. Three on the tree. Drove like a automatic in any gear. Hard to believe manuals are gone.

vrmnthntr · Jul 15, 2014

I am also interested in how the eco diesel performs. I don't know of anyone that has one. Curious if the mpg's will match what is on the sticker.

I agree with the manual transmission. A month ago I bought a new Nissan Frontier with a 5 speed because it seems manual are going extinct.

When my child (or children if we have more) learn to drive, they will know how to drive one. Driving that nissan brought back memories for my wife and I. And we are only in our early 30's.

We both started with 5 speeds when we got our license.

RetiredCarGuy · Jul 15, 2014

See this link:

The Manual Transmission is Dead, and it's Never Coming Back ... Ever | Ford Trucks

Fordman1981 · Jul 15, 2014

I agree it should be offered with a manual trans. I have a 2012 ram with the 6.7 so I could get the 6 speed manual. Even with today's automatics they still don't get the power to the ground like a manual trans does. I wish they'd bring back the manual trans and pair it with the 6.4 hemi in the HD trucks. Now that would be a good combination.

3930dave · Jul 16, 2014

From a design standpoint, Chrysler is not afraid to follow a different path. Manual transmissions, and diesels in 1/2 tons being good examples.

If I was budgeting for a new full-size truck, one of the reasons I'd be looking at Chrysler would be because of the availability of a manual trani. Unfortunately, fans like us are deemed as a small "enthusiast" market in Canada/USA, and largely ignored.

In my experience, I can always get better fuel mileage out of equivalent vehicles, if I have a stick to drive. But.... personal transportation here (mass marketing wise) is not really about efficiency.

It takes some Time and Effort to become skilled at driving a stick transmission - something fewer and fewer people can be bothered to do today.

At least on domestic vehicles, there are some after-market options - that compared to the cost of replacing an OE automatic transmission, aren't priced that badly.

Summit - Manual Trans

I'm looking forward to mileage/maintenance/overall feedback on these EcoD pickups from OP and others....

Rgds, D.