lol

I guess I could say I don't see what the big thrill is in shifting 150 times just to go twenty blocks (say to the grocery store and back--with a 4 way stop sign at each block) in a 35MPH zone with traffic and with motorcycle cops waiting to nail you. Might as well just put it in "D" mode and pick some nice songs on my iPod.

Honestly, to each his own. But bad traffic is seven miles per hour to go seven miles in one hour. It's that one famous Atlanta interchange where 14 lanes of traffic can come to a stand still. Bad traffic is when you average fifteen miles an hour on the freeway for your fifteen mile commute. I used to commute from Santa Monica, CA to Pasadena. The 10 freeway was a nice safe freeway (never any accidents during rush our in my three years on the freeway) because everyone was going about fifteen miles per hour!!!!

Anyway, it currently takes me about fifty to sixty minutes to go seven miles during one part of my commute. I never bothered to count, but when I had my MT Mustang GT I probably had to shift about 2,000 times during those seven miles. (Think stop start every two or three car lengths-first, crawl,neutral, first, neutral, first-second, neutral, first second, THIRD-wait now dead stop for thirty seconds, first-neutral, stop, first neutral, first-second neutral stop----and on and on and on for an hour.) There simply is no fun in that no matter how fun your car is. In traffic like that an AT makes your life a lot easier.

Why not just leave it in first or second ... no point in shifting to neutral, just take foot off the gas pedal and engine brake - it works for me when im back in LA/OC traffic

Sorry. I'm in neutral because traffic has come to a complete stop. That wasn't entirely clearly in my post.

The thing is, I have experienced traffic only in an MT. So I haven't even experienced it in an AT to compare.

Maybe if AT's didn't exist and people didn't experience them, they would all be fine with MT? :iono:

Even then that's not a big deal once you're used to driving stick just becomes second nature. Not a great excuse to buy AT over MT imo. Also you could just get used to leaving it in gear with clutch in which is technically proper however i understand that that could get old.

Hahahe, awesome... Most people wouldn't think a sports car could be so versatile, but it can be if the owner is up to the challenge! :thumbup:

I have a 6MT as a DD, idk y an auto is offered imo. I do not see the mpg "deficit" the sticker displays and nothing makes you feel more connected to a car than rowing gears on your own. The Auto is not some fancy dual clutch amazing setup... yes... it may be more practical for those who do not like their left foot (or would rather use it for left foot braking) but the extra weight of the Auto and worse gearing for acceleration should make the manual an easy choice for anyone looking to push a little. Yes the auto is better in traffic... but seriously... do you want the "penalties" of the auto when you find that winding back road? I'll shift a million times in traffic for that 5 minutes of pure driving nirvana on an empty mountain pass!

You can shift at any RPM you want in the AT. And because you're be in the 5k to 7k rpm range on those 'back mountain roads' (at felony reckless endangerment speeds, right?) you'll be hauling @ss in either the AT or MT.

It's really all about control of RPM and shift points. How you get control over your shift points is pretty much irrelevant to me. If you want to press a clutch with the foot that's fine. But I'd say that for *some* people the flexibility to either go in D mode to work and M mode when they want to go crazy is something that should be considered. Both transmissions are world class.

I thought that was a no-no when it comes to keeping your clutch springs etc. in good condition?

Hmm I've never heard of that.. I do both and either one isn't that big of a deal imo. I just like to have it in gear and ready to rock in most situations.

I also live in SoCal and I'm not getting nearly as much MPG as you. I'm getting MAX 25mpg and daily 24.6 to 24.8 :(

hmmm I'm hitting about the same mpg ~24-25

I was driving very conservative since I was still in break in period. I notice after I change to different wheels my MPG went a lot lower.