[Biturbos4] BMW becoming the 'ultimate poser machine' - My E3 6-M3 Sedan

[Russell Romano]

To play devils advocate for a minute....

Learning to drive on a manual may be a little harder, but well worth the effort.  I think KNOWING how to drive a manual right from the outset makes people better drivers.  If they choose an automatic later at least they understand WHAT the car is doing for them.  They'll be better prepared to deal with anything that comes their way with mechanical breakdowns, etc.

I can't even begin to count the number of friends who don't know how to drive a manual as adults because once they learned on an automatic and bought a car, they never had the opportunity to drive a manual.

I won't own an automatic, period.  Fortunately my wife feels the same way so this is an easy decision.  I've thanked her Dad several times for teaching her the right way right from the beginning! :)

Now all that being said, there is PLENTY to learn about the rules of the road and defensive driving that you really don't need the physical operation of the vehicle to be a barrier... but you could get that out of the way in a few evenings in the wal-mart parking lot... or buy a $1500 beater to learn the basics on and then drive the manual trans car.  I wouldn't make a $30,000 buying decision for myself based on their two week "learning" window.

Just my $0.02 :)

-Russ






-----Original Message-----
From: j y [mailto:jimnetpa at yahoo.com]
Sent: Friday, February 27, 2004 1:22 PM
To: biturbos4 at audifans.com
Subject: RE: [Biturbos4] BMW becoming the 'ultimate poser machine' - My
E36-M3 Sedan



When I purchased my new 1997 E36-M3 sedan (which I traded in for my Y2K S4) here in the Philly PA area, the salesman told me 'that BMW automatics have a higher trade-in value here in N. America.' Needless to say, I purchased my M3 with a manual tranny. 
 
But, when I purchased my Y2K S4, I did go for the Tip. Reason: I have two teenage kids who were learning how to drive, and I wanted a car (transmission) that would NOT make things difficult for them. In my opinion, it's much easier to learn how to drive your first car using a automatic versus manual tranny. 
 
Imagine, an S4 is the first car in which u learn how to drive. So far, one down (my son), and one to go (my daughter).
 
just my .02

Kyle Owen <krowen89 at hotmail.com> wrote:
My father-in-law found the same thing the last two times he bought a car - 
ended up with a Saab Viggen Conv the first time (only came in manual) and a 
G35 6-speed the second time (available on the lot at multiple 
dealerships...) BMW's are wonderful drivers cars (never owned one, but I 
can't begrudge,) but in automatic form I just don't get the appeal...


>From: "Bill Coleman" 
>Reply-To: Bill Coleman 
>To: 
>Subject: [Biturbos4] BMW becoming the 'ultimate poser machine'
>Date: Thu, 26 Feb 2004 13:18:13 -0500
>
>A friend of a friend wanted to test drive a 330i only to discover every car
>on the lot was an automatic! The salesman told him that 95% of what they
>sell are automatics, so the only way to get a manual transmission was to
>special order it. No slam on automatics, but for me the 'ultimate driving
>machine' would be a manual. Has BMW crossed the line from sport sedan to
>luxury sedan? Or is this just a local (nothern Detroit suburbs) 
>phenomenon?
>
>Bill
>00 S4 6sp
>01 A4 Avant 1.8tq sport 5sp
>
>
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>Biturbos4 mailing list
>Biturbos4 at www.audifans.com
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