new recall

[George Selby]

At 09:44 PM 1/1/04 -0500, you wrote:
>I've never understood this logic.  You have to move your right foot
>from the brake to the throttle and push down.  Is it that much more
>effort to lift your left foot.  Clutches in the newer (past 1970)cars
>are pretty effortless.


Clutches aren't effortless, the clutch in my 89 Audi 80 is among the 
heaviest of all the cars I have driven. (it's about as heavy as the 12" 
clutch in my F-150, both much heavier than the clutch in my 300ZX.)

The logic of having an automatic in heavy traffic is:

1) It does get tiring to constantly hold down the clutch pedal at 
stoplights.  I am considering switching to an automatic tranny car right 
now for this reason alone.  The effort of holding the clutch down is 
significantly more than either holding the brakes on a auto car at a light, 
or pressing on the gas pedal.

2)  In stop and go heavy traffic, frequently the traffic moves at a speed 
slower than the slowest speed my cars will go in 1st gear.  So I either 
have to leave extra room in front of my car (and deal with cars constantly 
try to jump in front of you) or I have to constantly press the clutch pedal 
in and out, which gets obnoxious for the passengers.  In an automatic 
tranny car one can just ride the brakes a little.

Another reason for an automatic tranny is resale value.  People just don't 
want manual tranny cars anymore. It can be a pain to sell one at any price, 
and you will frequently give a large discount as opposed to an automatic 
tranny car.


George Selby