how many 2 door pickups of any kind are sold each year?

[KevinRS]

Dealerships have a larger margin on SUVs and big trucks, so they have more room to offer a "deal" and still make more profit than on the smaller trucks and sedans. Import trucks having a 25% tariff for years, and emissions standards that allowed larger vehicles to be more polluting, and small ones got strict rules also hurt the small vehicles. Then there is the advertising that bigger vehicles are safer, which basically led to a quiet size arms race.
Even back in 2000 I had access to a discount at Ford through my employer, which was supposed to get close to the Ford employee price, the dealer told me for a sedan, it wasn't going to save me anything, the margin was so low on sedans that the price they were offering was better than the discount price. If I wanted a truck, it would be thousands off.
Yes, some profit is better than none, but when selling one bigger vehicle gets the profit of selling multiple smaller ones, they don't want the smaller ones taking up the space on the lot. Maybe they stock one or 2, but they try real hard to upsell you to the one that makes them a much bigger commission.

 

[AZFox]

One of the reasons the automakers don't like manuals is because of CAFE Standards. (Those again!) Gone are the days when manuals out-MPG'd automatics. It's the other way around now.

 

[E90400K]

Dealerships try to convince people walking on their lot that they can "instantly own" what they see in front of them.
And as the sales manager made clear to me: "It is easier to immediately sell an automatic to an experienced manual driver than the other way around."
Likewise, I believe dealers want to "up sell" two-door shoppers into a four-door model by matching the customer's monthly budget (albeit for a longer loan period).

Footnote: My 2024 Bronco was one of the last two-doors loaded with all the "toys" I wanted.
Starting in 2025, Ford only put those "toys" on the more expensive four-door.

(And yes, I am a dinosaur that loves driving stick shift. I would rather drive an EV than an automatic.)

This. I'm exactly the same way. Most all EV are single-speed manual transmissions, which is why they are a great match for us diehards. In the correct gear all the time.

 

[E90400K]

Apologies for the EV thread hijack, but...

Regarding MPGs manuals vs. automatics, really not a material difference. Then account for the take rate of approximately 95% automatics vs. 5% manuals, the miniscule MPG hit of the manual makes no real effect on CAFE. Just a few examples.

Buyers just prefer automatics. Automatics also allow manufacturers the freedom to add more complex driver aids so drivers can concentrate on the screen on the dashboard rather than road out ahead of them, and, oh yeah, their phone.

 

[Dorbiman]

Even BMW gave up on its core model, a rear-drive 3-series with a manual transmission. All that can be found on the dealership's lots are AWD automatics. Pitiful.

This really bums me out. I've also had a sweet spot for E38 7 Series with manual trans too.

 

[Dorbiman]

One of the reasons the automakers don't like manuals is because of CAFE Standards. (Those again!) Gone are the days when manuals out-MPG'd automatics. It's the other way around now.

True. In 2005, the manual GTO got significantly better MPG than its automatic slushbox counterpart.

 

[E90400K]

This really bums me out. I've also had a sweet spot for E38 7 Series with manual trans too.

I just lost my E90 to mother nature back in May. Had it for 19 years. Last of the classic 3-series.

 

[Letas]

One of the reasons the automakers don't like manuals is because of CAFE Standards. (Those again!) Gone are the days when manuals out-MPG'd automatics. It's the other way around now.

If this were true- surely we’d see an uneven proportion of f350s with manuals compared to f150s, right?

CAFE does not and never has applied to large trucks.

Additionally, CAFE was effectively repealed this year, so do you anticipate a resurgence in manuals?

 

[Sparkie]

Great, now let’s go a step further and ask why dealers aren’t pre-ordering manuals so customers can instantly own them.

If you told the GM of any dealership that they could stock a car, say one a month (or whatever frequency we choose), and it will sell instantly, albeit for a smaller profit- do you think any smart businessman would say no?
Profit is profit, and guaranteed profit is better than aged inventory.

If the demand was truly there, for real buyers, not keyboard “buyers”- you’d see 2 door trucks on every lot.

Sedans are the most recent car to die. I bought one 4 years ago. Had my pickings on what I wanted and what deal I wanted, because nobody bought them. Give it 15 years and people will be saying “dealerships killed the sedan”, not the consumer

My Bronco example was not about automatics vs manuals.
It was about a cheaper 2 door SUV -- much cheaper than everything else on the dealership's lot.
(Yes, a manual transmission is cheaper to build than an automatic.)
And like this Slate thread topic, I do believe there is a "hidden or suppressed" demand for a 2 door pickup and I was using my Bronco story as evidence.

As to your question of why dealerships pre-fill their lots with the most expensive 4 door SUVs instead of manual 2 door vehicles?
I think @KevinRS provided a more eloquent answer than I could.

Manual transmissions are disappearing in the US.
And someday, I will too.
In the mean time, I think Slate's minimalist designed pickup will do very well.

 

[Sparkie]

Apologies for the EV thread hijack, but...

Regarding MPGs manuals vs. automatics, really not a material difference. Then account for the take rate of approximately 95% automatics vs. 5% manuals, the miniscule MPG hit of the manual makes no real effect on CAFE. Just a few examples.

Buyers just prefer automatics. Automatics also allow manufacturers the freedom to add more complex driver aids so drivers can concentrate on the screen on the dashboard rather than road out ahead of them, and, oh yeah, their phone.

Thank you for the comparisons.
In truth, I am getting 3.5 mpg better than the EPA estimates on my 2 door Bronco.

Additionally, the manual transmission costs nearly $1,500 less to buy.
So I saved $$ at the start and continue to save $$ at the pump.
However, I understand an MT is not for everyone.

Over the last 10 years, I have observed that people simply don't enjoy driving a car.
When stopped at a red light, I watch all the people around me that are so bored with the task of driving a car.
In less than 3 seconds, they are lifting their phones and scrolling.

 

[AZFox]

If this were true- surely we’d see an uneven proportion of f350s with manuals compared to f150s, right?

It is indeed true. There are many other reasons as well.

Here's just one of those other reasons: Resale Value

 

[AZFox]

This. I'm exactly the same way. Most all EV are single-speed manual transmissions, which is why they are a great match for us diehards. In the correct gear all the time.

This, and torque-from-zero-RPM adds to the Fun Factor.

@Sparkie sums it up nicely:

(And yes, I am a dinosaur that loves driving stick shift. I would rather drive an EV than an automatic.)

 

[atx_ev]

Great, now let’s go a step further and ask why dealers aren’t pre-ordering manuals so customers can instantly own them.

If you told the GM of any dealership that they could stock a car, say one a month (or whatever frequency we choose), and it will sell instantly, albeit for a smaller profit- do you think any smart businessman would say no?
Profit is profit, and guaranteed profit is better than aged inventory.

If the demand was truly there, for real buyers, not keyboard “buyers”- you’d see 2 door trucks on every lot.

Sedans are the most recent car to die. I bought one 4 years ago. Had my pickings on what I wanted and what deal I wanted, because nobody bought them. Give it 15 years and people will be saying “dealerships killed the sedan”, not the consumer

One possible answer is they get a fixed number of units per year. So if the 2 door is 30K with a 3K markup possible, but they can also sell a 50K with a 3K markup possible, they are going to take the 50K cars.

Everyone has a theory and we will see what the market says if they make it to production.

 

[Letas]

It is indeed true. There are many other reasons as well.

Here's just one of those other reasons: Resale Value

And- why would resale value be lower?

 

[Letas]

One possible answer is they get a fixed number of units per year. So if the 2 door is 30K with a 3K markup possible, but they can also sell a 50K with a 3K markup possible, they are going to take the 50K cars.

Everyone has a theory and we will see what the market says if they make it to production.

This one makes the most sense out of any answer provided here. I don't know the ins and outs of allocations enough to dispute- so I will take this as one reason.