I came home from work one day last summer to find a handwritten note tucked under one of the wipers on my Miata. It was a pretty standard “call me if you’re interested in selling” note. Looked up the person who left the note, it’s one of those like paid-to-be-hot IG/Tik-Tok girls. Absolutely last demographic I ever expected to give a shit about an NA Miata (or live in a sleepy rural lake town in the middle of nowhere, for that matter)
Everyone on both sides of this “debate” really overstates their case and sounds like a total drama queen.
The reality is, if you daily drive a manual long enough, it becomes second-nature and you don’t really notice or think about shifting in regular/boring/rush hour traffic driving conditions. I never had problems daily driving manuals (including through lower Westchester traffic) for 10+ years. I also don’t really miss shifting anymore when I’m just sitting in traffic. Human beings are pretty adaptable, having to push in a clutch every now and then isn’t going to ruin your life.
Drive what you want to drive.
Why wouldn’t it be okay?
8, 9 and 10 are all overdrive gears, so the experience of an 8-speed vs. a 10-speed really isn’t going to be different under acceleration, around town, spirited driving, etc. the Ford unit has its (well-documented) issues but I really don’t think “too many gears” is one of them. Unless I’m manually downshifting for a long hill or something it’s not like I know or care which gear the transmission is in at any given moment anyway.
Plymouth suffered the same unfortunate fate as other American mid-range companies like Pontiac and Mercury where their brand identity was watered down by decades of being turned into a dumping ground for low-effort rebadges.
If you know/remember cars like the Barracuda, Road Runner, GTX, etc. your perception of the Plymouth brand is going to be completely different from someone who remembers the Neon, Breeze and Voyager. Unfortunately most people fall into the latter camp.
The Prowler seems to be having its day in the sun recently, but I don’t really think that’s enough of a foundation to bring back an entire brandname. If they wanted to cash in on Prowler nostalgia they’d likely bring it back as a Dodge or Chrysler.