re: V8 stuff

[Unka Bart <mendicant@buddhist.com>]

Hi Ray, other's who might be similary afflicted with knots in yer knickers,

> Are manual transmissions better than automatics?

As the principal offender here (as usual), kindly allow me to point out
that my message was in reply to a rather snide implication of the purported
folly of bothering with a Manual when an automatic was so much better.  The
gentleman wanted to know why one would bother with a manual, I told him.
Why one would bother, that is.  Never said one was superior to the other.
Never said a word against autoboxes.

> Variety is the spice of life. To be able to experience multiple types of
> vehicles with different drive train, body configurations and purposes, is
> one of the greatest pleasures/luxuries of life. Automatics aren't patently
> better than manuals nor is the converse true. Each one has its own place and
> I would define an enthusiast as anyone who knows the differences and
> appreciates them.

I quite agree, and have made this very point many times m'self!

[ample evidence of brother Ray's excellent taste, and
Enthusiast-credentials ruthlessly snipped...]

> I believe I would be less of a driving enthusiast if I just picked
> one of these vehicles, drive train configurations, transmission types, or
> any other characteristic and proclaimed it to be definitive of enthusiasts.
> After all driving isn't just pushing pedals, turning a wheel and shifting
> levers isn't it? It's the whole experience!

<ahem...>  Careful reading of my (obviously) knicker-knotting message
provides exactly zero evidence of any implication to the contrary.  My
message was *pointedly* addressed to the gentleman in question, and
specific to the question he posed as to *why* one would *bother* with a
manual.

I'm told that excess caffein is hard on the heart, as well, he said with a
grin as he abled off into the morning fog...

yer kindly ol' Unka Bart