I'm NEVER buying a car with automatic transmission ever again.

[RPM]

I drive stick now, and i am never going back

my 2 previous cars died from tranny problems - they were automatics.

[Lisa0825]

1. I love 5-speeds!

I haven't had one in years, because when you buy a used car, there are always more automatics to choose from. My only ever new car was a 5-speed Honda Civic, and I felt like a race car driver zipping around town! It feels like you have so much more control than with an automatic! Not to mention repairs are cheaper, and gas mileage is often better too.

I am in the process of trying to buy a used car right now, and the one I want is a 5-speed 2002 Hyundai Elantra. It is SO FUN to drive!!!

[mcscajun]

2. Definitely a case where YMMV...

...I drive a Saturn SC-1 automatic -- I bought it in December 1994 and it's got 184,000 miles on it and still cookin' with no hint of any problem with the transaxle in all that time.

[RPM]

3. up in the 180k range was where the troubles started...

biggest problem, specially on the second car, was that the tranny wasnt hearty enough for the engine.

anywho - i just enjoy the stick more - so even if i had a perfect automatic, i wouldnt really want it.

[mcscajun]

5. Mismatched transmissions are how the auto manufacturers

manage to keep the MPGs in the government-approved range. It's not accidental, it's deliberate.

At least, that's one way.

[KG]

4. pish-posh. in city traffic, stick shift is a tool of torture.

my left leg is still deformed from the the poor positioning on the clutch pedal in my last car.

[Left_Winger]

6. I've been a licensed driver for 33 years now

and I have never had a car with an automatic transmission. I learned to drive in a 1953 Mercury with "three on the tree".

If I knew then what I know now, I would have kept two cars I once owned: a 1957 and a 1971 VW Beetle.

[havocmom]

7. Good luck. Seems fewer and fewer cars with standard trannies all the time

Very limited selection. Pretty soon, Havocdad will end up with the Gemran road eater he wants just cuz it is one of the few with a five speed... Problem is, he has a tall wife and wants an English Bull Mastif to go along with the 90 Pound Hound. Somehow, I don't think we are all gonna fit in the five speed of his dreams.

In test drives, I did like the zippy in the Saturn tranny and Honda manages a good one.

My bro has a 71 'cuda which just recently developed tranny trouble. Something like 380,000 miles on it at the time.

[RPM]

8. the audi wagons are nice - but a bit pricy

though one can get used ones at a reasonable rate.

[havocmom]

9. Sun roof? Gonna be a tall dog in there sometime in the future

Saw a guy with his middle-age-crazy sports car who had 2 Rotties in there with him. Both dogs were seated and resting their heads on the top of the car, via the sunroof. He could have at least bought them some of those 'Doggles' to protect their eyes. Cheap bastard!

http://www.doggles.com /

edited cuz I had to add this dude: