SW Hiawatha: I didn't remember they did the Dakota with the V-8 and a five speed.
It was in the two/three years before 2008 (when I gave up and got, very reluctantly, a Ford with what I consider an antique five speed, since the six speed smaller Nissan Frontier was $8000 more than this huge, monster long bed club cab F-150) 2008 and from Ford was the last year you could get a full sized manual American pickup. And,
as feared, it takes up too much space in my garage. As of now, they still make the
Frontier. The dealer for the Ford was hungry and went all the way to Pittsburgh for
it, and it was exactly right, except for color, with everything I wanted, and, especially!,
nothing I did not want. Seems like everything I want is a hassle to get.