It’s a given that some vehicles are available with a stick shift: the Chevrolet Corvette, the Porsche Boxster, the BMW M3. You know, performance cars. But many manufacturers have surprised us by offering row-your-own manual transmissions in stuff you wouldn’t expect, and for that they deserve special recognition. After all, manuals are way more fun and give the driver a greater sense of control. Unless you’re really determined, you can’t eat a hamburger or text your mom while you drive one. And manual-equipped cars often provide better fuel economy than their automatic equivalents. Here are some of our favorite shockers.

Ye Olde Surprise: Lexus SC300 (1992 – 97) The SC300 (along with its V-8–powered sibling, the SC400) was Lexus’s first foray into the grand tourer segment—the bummeriffic SC430 being another—and remains one of the company’s most underappreciated models. Featuring the same robust 3.0-liter inline-six engine available in the fourth-generation Toyota Supra from 1993 to 1998, the SC300 was powerful and refined, and it was involving in a way that few Lexus vehicles have ever been. But not many outside the enthusiast community know that a fraction of SC300s were sold with a five-speed manual, which upped the fun and cut the SC300’s 0-to-60-mph sprint down to 6.8 seconds from 7.2 with the four-speed automatic.

Current Surprise: Buick’s European-bred family sedan will offer a six-speed manual in the 220-hp turbo version coming this fall, and the 255-hp

launching in early 2011 should have one, too. To repeat: There are modern manual Buicks! (Of course, that’s because they’re rebadged Opel Insignias, manual versions of which aren’t exactly rare.)

Ye Olde Surprise: BMW X5 (2001 – 06) When it launched in 2000, BMW’s X5 was one of the first SUVs that pitched itself as a sporty, high-performance product rather than a mud-plugging off-roader. (BMW even invented the dopey Sports Activity Vehicle descriptor for the X5.) Although the X5 first came only with a V-8, BMW added a six-cylinder version as an entry-level model in 2001; it used the same 3.0-liter mill that was in the contemporary 330i and 530i. And fortunately for enthusiasts, the six-cylinder model was available with a five-speed stick. When BMW face-lifted the X5 in 2004, it upgraded the transmission to a slick six-speed manual. Of course, slim sales convinced BMW that shoppers weren’t interested in stick-shift X5s, so when the second-generation X5 launched in 2006, the model went automatic only. At least the used X5s with the manual transmission are cheaper to buy than the more widely sought-after automatic cars, and rowing a stick in something as large and in charge as an X5 is a, uh,

uniquely satisfying experience.

Current Surprise: Porsche’s athletic SUV currently offers a six-speed manual only in the V-6 version, but who cares? It may be slower than V-8 versions, but the V-6 Cayenne handles as well as its more powerful stablemates, and the stick gives it a bit stronger connection to Porsche’s sports cars than just the crest on the hood. Plus, it’s weird, and that counts for something, right? ___________________________________________________________

Ye Olde Surprise: Mercedes-Benz 300SL (1990 – 93) When we think about the modern Mercedes brand, “offers stick shifts” isn’t really something that springs to mind. But there is a notable recent exception: the early-’90s 300SL. Mercedes redesigned its top-of-the-line SL roadster in 1989 for the 1990 model year, and the most attention—from shoppers and reviewers alike—went to the V-8–powered, automatic-only 500SL. That’s sort of understandable, given that the straight-six 300SL had just 228 hp on tap to the 500SL’s 322; a five-speed stick, however, helped make the most of the 300SL’s meager power. Like the X5, the manual 300SL was not a sales success. Mercedes sold fewer than 200 three-pedal 300SLs before the model was replaced by the automatic-only SL320 in 1994. No SLs have offered a stick since.

Current Surprise: There are actually two Benzes presently sold in the U.S. with manual transmissions. The C300 sedan is the bigger surprise of the two; the other is the SLK300, but as a two-seat roadster, shouldn’t it come with a stick? (Perhaps the biggest surprise of them all, though, is that none of the firm’s hellacious AMG models comes with a manual. For shame, Mercedes.) Like the 300SL of 20 years ago, the C300 has 228 hp and six cylinders, although the newer car has its pistons arranged in a vee. Sales of the C300 with the manual have been weak; U.S.-market Benzes are likely to go all automatic, all the time, in the near future.

Ye Olde Surprise: Dodge Caravan Turbo (1989 – 90) In the late 1980s, before the SUV craze, minivans caught on with a generation of parents who rebelled against buying “boring and hopelessly lame” station wagons like those in which they grew up. The rise of these sliding-door wonders, of course, subsequently helped cement the image of the soccer mom, and now it’s the minivan that’s hopelessly lame, with the latest generation of parents dropping them for trendy crossovers. But back when they were hot, Chrysler’s vans—the Dodge Caravan, the Plymouth Voyager, and the Chrysler Town & Country—were the most popular people movers of them all. Most soccer moms, however, weren’t tooling around in Dodge’s 150-hp turbocharged version, complete with script lettering on the side and the optional five-speed manual on the floor. Sadly, performance with this 2.5-liter engine was still slow. About the only thing slower were the Caravan Turbo’s sales numbers. (Sensing a trend here?) Chrysler discontinued the turbo in 1991 when the lineup shifted focus to V-6 engines, but these vans still have a cult following. Among cult members,

even muscled up his turbocharged kiddiemobile and had it running impressive 12-second quarter-miles.

Current Surprise: We love that Mazda has the cojones to offer a stick in its six-passenger family hauler. If you have to drive a minivan, a Mazda 5 with a manual transmission is your best shot of convincing friends that you haven’t totally given up.

Article source: http://www.caranddriver.com/features/10q3/that_came_with_a_manual_transmission_-feature

Mercedes Benz SL63 Action