As an avid participant of online automotive discourse, you’ve likely grown used hearing about the upsetting decline of the manual transmission, usually as it relates to a beloved sports car of some kind. On today’s episode of “Save the Manuals,” however, it all has to do with the car world’s other topic du jour, the revived 2021 Ford Bronco. People were dancing in the streets when Ford confirmed its seven-speed stick shift, but the party took a weird turn on Thursday when it was revealed that you won’t be able to order a manual with the big-tired Sasquatch package, which is set up to compete with the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon.
Ford offers two transmission options for the new Bronco: a 10-speed automatic and a glorious seven-speed Getrag manual with an off-road-friendly crawler gear. The Bronco’s Sasquatch package, an equipment bundle that includes beadlock-capable wheels, 35-inch mud tires, special Bilstein shocks with a lift, locking axles, a 4.7:1 final drive ratio and high-clearance fenders, can turn any trim from the base model to the upper-tier Badlands into a crazy-capable off-roader, and it’s standard on the Wildtrak and First Edition trucks.
It seemed like a no-brainer option for a lot of folks. But there’s a catch—come on, there’s always a catch. Responding to a revelatory question from Twitter user Oliver Dueck, Ford spokesman Mike Levine confirmed on Wednesday that the Sasquatch can only be had in combination with the 10-speed auto. He also added that “We’re open to feedback for those that feel otherwise,” and the Twitter ratio indicates people have plenty of that.
So, if you’re as outraged and disappointed as some of the Twitter users and Bronco6G forum members replying to this news, feel free to let Ford know how you feel and, hopefully, things might change when the 2022 or 2023 model year Bronco comes around.
In the meantime, manual Bronco owners will just have to make do with replicating the Sasquatch package on the aftermarket…as official Ford Motor Company PR man Michael Levine publicly suggests.
Sure, we could do that but next thing you know, we’re chopping and frying our own potatoes instead of just hitting up the McD’s drive-thru like a normal human being. Who has time for that?
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