"My understanding is that they stopped importing them due to the lack of a neutral safety switch. I know a few LR techs who have crushed, or come close to crushing, their tool boxes with manual Land Rovers."
So....I interpret this as a car with the ignition turned to start while in gear with the clutch out will leap forward like most other manuals I've owned? I guess I didn't realize that was a thing, but I never started the Boxster in gear on accident come to think of it. That lockout must be an American safety thing I guess?
So that's the actual reason they stopped importing them in 97? No lockout switch? Ive actually started and run cars in the past in gear in situations where the clutch is gone, its on a hill and needs to be moved. I just assumed the American market viewed a heavy-ish clutch and shifter as a pain in the ass at Starbucks drive throughs and also while using the new motorola star tac cell phone and so the demand was less than zero. Especially as the numbers of 5-speeds died steeply every year that passed. I assumed we were in the market for luxury trucks, luxury trucks shift their own gears and nobody wanted a manual disco.