Junkyard Gem: 2006 Jeep Liberty Sport 4WD with manual transmission

Jeep is down to just two models with available manual transmissions now (the Wrangler and its Gladiator sibling), but it wasn't so long ago that ordinary commuter Jeeps could be purchased with three-pedal setups. Today's Junkyard Gem is one of those machines: a first-generation Liberty with a six-speed manual bolted to its V6 engine, found in a Denver car graveyard recently.

I'm always looking for rare manual-equipped vehicles during my junkyard travels, and I've found such oddities as a manual 2007 Toyota Camry (as well as one of 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 original buyer of this car prefer driving a manual-equipped vehicle, or was the decision to stick with the base 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 and then continued after AMC was bought by Chrysler in 1987. In this application, horsepower was 210 and torque was 235 pound-feet.

The first-generation Liberty was developed as a replacement for the elderly XJ Cherokee and debuted as a 2002 model.

The original 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, but it works well for homemade car-parts boomboxes.

Refined features inside, rugged features outside.

Junkyard Gem: 2006 Jeep Liberty Sport 4WD with manual transmission

Junkyard Gem: 2006 Jeep Liberty Sport 4WD with manual transmission

Junkyard Gem: 2006 Jeep Liberty Sport 4WD with manual transmission

Junkyard Gem: 2006 Jeep Liberty Sport 4WD with manual transmission

Junkyard Gem: 2006 Jeep Liberty Sport 4WD with manual transmission