I like automatics just fine but they're very rare here.
Automatics are nigh useless in winter at worst, and at best they are still kinda old guy's and housewives' choices. Can't drive sportily or have fun with an automatic, unless we're talking hundreds of hp etc. I liked the automatic on my Chevy Van, suited it very well, although I did have major problems with it in slippery conditions...then I wished for a manual. Having driven in the US and here, the culture is way different, people don't so much drive actively for pleasure in the US but more like use the car for moving around and prefer automatics. And at least in New York the roads didn't much make want to drive actively. Suffices to say I understood why american cars have such loose suspensions and big tires and no
feeling for the road - the roads were pretty bad largely and distances long. Again automatics are fine then. . Here every kid is a wannabe rallye driver and since they're 16 or so all they wanna do is drive rally around in the countryside etc.
When younger, I would have laughed at automatic drivers, but now I'd like one just fine, but the only problem is they don't last nearly as well. Manual trannies practixally never break even after half a million miles or more and just need an oil change every 300.000 or so but automatics tend to need oil changes often plus they often break and are costly to repair, especially I think cold winters are hard for automatics. The most often sold cheap american car here is with a busted tranny nobody can fix here, and a new one costs more than the car.
If I bought a new or almost new a car and knew I'd be selling it off in a few years again, I'd pick an automatic. With old car, or for keeps, definitely manual.
However, I suppose tranny repairs are much easier and commonplace in the us than here, so things could be different.
Dee
"When life's a biatch, be a horny dog"
Amps: Marshall JVM 410H w/ Plexi Cap mod, Choke Mod & Negative Feedback Removal mod, 4x12", Behringer GMX110, Amplitube 3/StealthPedal
Half a dozen custom built/bastardized guitars all with EMG's, mostly 85's, Ibanez Artwood acoustic & Yamaha SGR bass, Epiphone Prophecy SG, Vox Wah, Pitchblack tuner plus assorted pedals, rack gear etc. for home studio use.