Jeep is all the way down to just two models with available manual transmissions now (the Wrangler and its Gladiator sibling), nevertheless it wasn’t so way back that atypical commuter Jeeps might be purchased with three-pedal setups. Today’s Junkyard Gem is one in all those machines: a first-generation Liberty with a six-speed manual bolted to its V6 engine, present in a Denver automotive graveyard recently.
I’m at all times on the lookout for rare manual-equipped vehicles during my junkyard travels, and I’ve found such oddities as a manual 2007 Toyota Camry (in addition to one in all the last V6/manual Camrys ever sold in America), a manual Mercury Mystique, a manual Chrysler PT Cruiser, a manual Volvo C30, a manual Saturn Vue, a manual Chevrolet HHR and even a manual Olds Alero.
Did the unique buyer of this automotive prefer driving a manual-equipped vehicle, or was the choice to stick to the bottom transmission entirely about money?
The engine is a 3.7-liter PowerTech V6, a member of an engine family whose development began under American Motors after which continued after AMC was bought by Chrysler in 1987. On this application, horsepower was 210 and torque was 235 pound-feet.
The primary-generation Liberty was developed as a substitute for the elderly XJ Cherokee and debuted as a 2002 model.
The unique Liberty was built through 2007, after which it was replaced by the Dodge Nitro-derived second-generation Liberty.
This side-mounted radio antenna looks like a J.C. Whitney add-on, nevertheless it works well for homemade car-parts boomboxes.
Refined features inside, rugged features outside.
This Article First Appeared At www.autoblog.com
