On Tue, 09 Oct 2012 06:03:32 -0400, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

On Mon, 8 Oct 2012 23:29:54 -0700 (PDT), harry
wrote:



There are plenty of American vehicles that get better mpg than that. *Even a
Ford Aerostar gets at least 18mph highway, and usually more. *And those
minivans are built to LAST.

I never hard of it but looked it up.
I see the diesel engined model was cancelled as was manual
transmission II wonder why?
But interesting gas guzzling options retained. Four litre petrol
engines, all wheel drive.
Mind boggling on a working vehicle.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Aerostar


Many auto makers are dropping manual transmissions. Automatics today
are just as efficient and there is little demand for stick shift. Last
manual I owned was over 35 years ago.

I had manual minivans, an '85 and a '90. I've had autos since, mostly because
of my knee (and wife).

Many cars today have an "Eco" mode that programs the tranny for lower
shift points and better MPG. Given the race to meet the required
CAFE, they'd offer stick to get the mileage down if they could.