re: Why are there so few regular cab trucks anymore?

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I bought my son a 1996 F150 Single Cab Short bed 4x4 with a manual transmission, because like you I didn't want him driving a lot of people around. I also wanted his hands to be to busy to be on his phone, and I didn't want him to let his friends drive it "figured the stick would solve this problem".

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yessir. my son isn't even two yet but i've got this ol beater single cab 4wd tacoma standard transmission that i plan on putting him in for his first truck. it runs great right now, but i plan on restoring the body and keeping it under cover and using it sparingly to keep it running good. there's no doubt in my mind it'll last another 20k miles/ 15 years until he's ready to try his hand at driving, even in

in that truck he can't go too fast, can't haul around a pile of buddies and can't totally disregard the road due to the standard transmission. out the 4 vehicles i own, 2 are standard, and at one time even my wife's car was a standard. i bought a new dodge 3500 cab and chassis this year with the hd aisin automatic transmission in it, and even though it stops 30,000 lbs better than my older rigs, the automatic transmission in trucks are still inferior when compared to an experienced operator towing an extremely heavy load with a standard transmission. there's no comparison, really.

a standard transmission makes you an actual operator of the machine instead of a being a "driver" of the machine. a standard shift transmission makes you a better, more aware driver by default, and even though it becomes 2nd nature, it still takes skill and attentiveness - a good combination for a new, immature youngin' who's full of piss and vinegar.