> >
> Lord Foul - I'll tell you what "I" have against auto(matic)s vs 5-speed
> stick trannies: Autos cost more initially ($$$); they cost more in the long
> run (generally higher fuel bill, repairs & maintenance); fewer gears than a
> 5-speed (except in certain high-priced imports) mean less versatility to
> handle heavy load conditions; not as effective when driving on snow/ice;
> less fun to drive (for those of us who like to shift for ourselves; autos
> are more likely to be stolen (ask my son, whose business truck was saved
> because the crook who jumped in couldn't drive stick-shift. He saw it
> happen and said it was funny!); generally slower acceleration than a
> 5-speed stick, unless you modify it; they enable you to divert your
> attention from the driving process by allowing you to spend too much time
> on your cellular phone <G>; under certain heavy load conditions (like
> pulling a trailer up a hill), you have to floor it to make it downshift;
> and, most importantly, they enable really old/senile people . . . and
> certain others . . . to keep on driving long past when they should stop.
> The only advantage to an automatic is that it enables you to drive without
> shifting. Oh, I'll defend your right to own one. After all, driving with
> one doesn't make you a bad person <G>!
>
> Dick (& Geri) Campagna, Mt Laurel, NJ campagna@nothinbut.net
> (Per favore, non mi rompere i coglioni. Grazie!)
>
>
1st, autos have just as much power as sticks (The other day I pulled
about a 8,000 lb trailer with a '86 Ram with an auto, and still had enough
power to pass a guy going 40 mph in a 55, while going uphill, not to
mention the fact it would pull the trailer at about 15 mph without even
hitting gas), 2nd I've never been beaten at a stop light with a stock
automatic (No mods) so I disagree with the less acceleration, 3rd, when
pulling a trailer up a hill all you have to do is move the gear selector
down a notch or 2 and it downshifts. 4th The only maintenence I've had to
do to the Ram in the 7 years we've had it is to put new floor pan seals,
which I consider normal maintenence on any tranny, stick or auto. 5th,
the Ram which is a fullsize, 4X4, still gets about 18 MPG on the Highway,
which is actually better than my brothers shortbed '96 Ford P/U with a
stick (About 17 MPG). So the only arguments left is that a stick is more
fun to drive, which is an opinion that I don't agree with, but you have
the right to believe. Besides the fact that if your doing a lot of
driving in heavy traffic, and/or have to stop on hills a lot, an auto is
definitely the better tranny to have with all the stop and go. As far as
the auto distracting people, I've seen just as many absent-minded people
driving sticks as autos. Don't know about the theft thing, but I'd have
to see the statistics to believe it. You might be right about the old
people, but you know you'd do the same thing, try to keep your driving
privileges as long as possible, I know I will. Later-
Bruce
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Jun 20 2003 - 12:07:54 EDT