At Least One Pope Preferred Manual Transmissions

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Our Pope, who creation from Chicago, hallowed beryllium thy Ford Fusion. Thy transmission beryllium manual, thy clutch beryllium dumped, connected Earth arsenic it is successful Heaven. Amen. That's right, according to a caller admittance by Ford CEO Jim Farley on nan podcast Spike's Car Radio, reports Ford Authority, nan Pontifex himself not only drove 1 of Ford's top sedans, but he besides bought 1 pinch a six-speed manual transmission. The now-deceased, humble, Mexico-built American sedan is simply a fitting 1 for a man of nan cloth, and apparently, it served nan then-Cardinal rather well. He grew up successful nan suburbs of Chicago successful a mini middle-class family home, aft all. 

I don't person a afloat relationship of erstwhile Robert Francis Prevost drove which cars, but pursuing his missionary activity successful Peru, he returned to Chicago from nan precocious 1990s until he became a naturalized national of Peru arsenic Bishop of Chiclayo. It makes consciousness that Leo would person had a Ford Fusion during his clip successful Chicago. This is nan benignant of car that dominated nan Midwest successful that era. It's astatine slightest interesting, though, that he selected a stick.

The Fusion was available, pinch a manual transmission nary less, from its inception successful 2006 until nan six-speed was killed disconnected (along pinch nan 1.6-liter engine) in 2015. Several different motor and transmission combos were disposable that could've had then-Prevost rowing his ain gears — including a 2.5-liter four-cylinder, aliases an early 2.3-liter four-cylinder paired pinch a five-speed manual. Given my prime of nan bunch, however, nan 1.6-liter Ecoboost second-gen exemplary pinch a Getrag-built B6 manual would beryllium my choice. 

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"He really missed his Fusion 6-speed. I told him that we mislaid for illustration $4,000 connected each 1 of those we made, but he didn't look to attraction much," Farley said of Pope Leo. I'm not judge why Farley expected nan Pope to attraction astir Ford's profit margins connected a car he bought complete a decade agone — an overseas point to say, to beryllium ace clear.

The Fusion was a bully conveyance for each time usage erstwhile it was built, and it was 1 of nan past regular sedans to beryllium disposable pinch a manual transmission. These days, you can't moreover bargain a Ford pinch a manual transmission unless you're a Mustang aliases Bronco guy, and I don't deliberation a knowledgeable man worthy of nan papacy would beryllium seen successful either. Perhaps nan instrumentality displacement was his measurement of connecting pinch nan everyman aliases grounding himself successful reality aliases something. Or, who knows, possibly he said a Hail Mary, Full Of Grace each clip he dumped nan clutch astatine 5,000 RPM and put a large helping connected nan platform lid? 

Mr. Farley besides recounted that he had precocious taken assemblage pinch nan Holy See astatine nan Vatican, and he and his family personally presented Pope Leo XIV pinch a marque caller Ford Explorer Hybrid. The Explorer, aft all, is built successful Chicago, and this illustration has been civilization fitted pinch respective Chicago-themed pieces of flair to punctual his excellency of his humble midwestern American roots. "He noticed and appreciated each nan individual touches," Farley said in an charismatic Ford release. "We moreover took a speedy drive, and I tin corroborate nan Holy Father enjoys driving a sporty ride." No matter really overmuch he enjoys it, though, nan Pope won't beryllium using nan civilization Explorer arsenic a Popemobile. 

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Pope Leo isn't nan first Pope to person driven an absorbing car pinch a manual transmission. Pope Leo XIV is nan first American-born Pope, arsenic it were, and we're quickly moving retired of manual vehicles here, but different countries person had them successful abundance for a while. So nan chances are beautiful bully that erstwhile Popes drove cars pinch manual transmissions, assuming they didn't thrust astir connected small scooters. You tin stake that a Pope has ne'er regularly spent clip in, like, an F40 aliases a Porsche 911, though. The Pope isn't formally required to return a vow of poverty, but thing showy for illustration a million-dollar hypercar isn't precisely successful keeping pinch nan teachings of nan office. Pope John Paul II was talented nan last accumulation Ferrari Enzo, but astatine his suggestion, it was alternatively auctioned disconnected for charity. 

The world's astir caller pre-Leo Pope, Francis (formerly Jorge Mario Bergoglio) was a practicing Jesuit and committed himself to ne'er owning spot aliases having a slope account. The 1 point he allowed himself was a 1984 Renault 4 hatchback, which was talented to nan Papacy successful 2013 from Italian pastor Renzo Zocca. The car had 186,000 miles connected it erstwhile Francis took delivery, and he continued to thrust it, eschewing nan accepted "Popemobile" treatment for his much humble group of wheels. 

Pope Leo is seen successful nan image supra riding astir successful nan first all-electric conveyance to deterioration nan S.C.V. 1 Vatican State licence plate, denoting that it is nan Popemobile. The conveyance was a gift from Mercedes-Benz to Pope Francis successful December 2024, soon earlier his death. There person been dozens of different Papal automobiles complete nan decades, often pinch vehicles built for nan juncture of a azygous sojourn to a country. Popes person ridden astir successful everything from a Lincoln Town Car to a Ferrari Mondial. Not rather an F40, but astir arsenic adjacent arsenic it gets.