There are five vehicles here, three sticks ('54 Chevy PU hot rod, '75 TR-6, '90
300ZX) and two automatics ('97 OM4-Runner, '03 Chevy Trailblazer, both 4WD).
Sticks are fun in most driving conditions, particularly curvy mountain or
country roads, as they allow more hands-on participation in the driving
experience and give you something to do besides change CDs or count cattle.
But if you do a lot of driving in stop-and-go traffic, the appeal can fade
pretty quick as you row your way mile after mile.
Besides, automatics have improved to the point that, unless you are a real pro,
a NASCAR, CART or F1 sort, you'll probably be sacrifacing performance under
most circumstances. I've been driving sticks since my first car, a '54 MG TD I
got before I was old enough to get a license, but with today's automatic
trannies, I wouldn't want to compete with an equally-skilled driver in
identical cars if the only difference was that I had the stick and the other
guy had the auto.
Bottom line: drive one for a while before you decide.
Walt
--
"Anything more than 500 yards from
the car just isn't photogenic." --
Edward Weston
-------------- Original message ----------------------
From: GMcGrath@xxxxxxx
[snip]
> My biggest question for list members is for comments about living with a
> stick versus an automatics trans. I've never owned a manual, but there's a
> big
> difference in highway mileage on the GTO and I've got this little voice in
> the
> back of my head that says "Go hard core." I live on the MS Gulf Coast, so I
> won't have to deal with snow/ice or really hilly/mountainous terrain.
[snip]
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