Well, Don, you pretty much summed my feelings exactly.

On Fri, Mar 19, 2010 at 4:45 PM, Don Hanson <dhanson928@gmail.com> wrote:

> On Fri, Mar 19, 2010 at 10:56 AM, Neil2 <vidublu@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > My Sprinter has a tiptronic and a Bus feind teased me the day I bought it
> > 'cause it didn't have a real stick.  I suppose I might like the tip in a
> > smaller van but Moby is 600cf inside and 25' long so it's still like
> > navigating a ship and I sure my me Westy and its stick!
> >
> > On Fri, Mar 12, 2010 at 6:45 PM, Scott Daniel - Turbovans <
> > scottdaniel@turbovans.com> wrote:
> >
> > > I will say that a 'good' automatic is a joy to drive.
> > > More than a 3 speed slush box like vanagons have.
> > > I am way satisfied with the 4 speed auto in my turbo volvo sedan, with
> > > electric button shifting in and out of overdrive top gear.
> >
>
>  I can't recall ever owning an automatic vehicle.  I do not care for them.
> I hate the way they are in snow...They suck in soft sand and having some
> engineer pre-determine when the vehicle will shift under +his+ conditions,
> the one's they simulated on the computer in China, Japan, Germany or where
> ever, that is often awkward.  It can be fatal, if you're in an emergency
> situation right at the limits of traction, and your silly automatic tranny
> decides it must shift...  You can't really tow them, you can't push start
> them and you can't usually "baby" a faulty one back home in whatever gear
> remains.  They seem to be more expensive to have repaired and most of them
> are less effective for fuel economy..maybe brand new ones can match a
> manual
> trans for MPG..but I doubt I will every buy one until they get really good
> or there are no manual tranny vehicles allowed on the highway..
>
>  I really can't picture myself driving an automatic Vanagon..Mine, I drive
> it like a small truck..It's pretty heavy and has a similar power to weight
> ratio to a loaded truck, so I like to control where my RPMs are with an eye
> on the highway ahead and the traffic I anticipate..  If I'm caught going
> slow with a long grade ahead I like to have the option to be in any of 3
> gears in my 5speed manual..depending on how slow and how steep the
> road ahead is..Fishing around for a usable gear in a slush box Vanagon just
> makes me shudder thinking about it.  On mountain or winding roads, as I
> brake and enter a corner I can select the proper gear that I will need to
> exit the corner effectively and lose no momentum at all nor induce any
> stress into the drive line with a shift under load, like an auto does.
>
>  Only if I lived in a big city would I consider an auto-shift...and I will
> never willingly live in a big city again.
>   Don Hanson
>

--
Neil2
'82 Diesel Westfalia (USS Tinosa)
'86 Vanagon/Westfalia Wannabe (SaVannah)
Nunquam Pendite Divendium