From: muratlanne@gmail.com   
      
   "Richard Smith"  wrote in message news:m1a4yx16lm.fsf@void.com...   
      
   Hello all.   
   Don't know if this is worth a chortle.  Given a lot of you in North   
   America.   
   Here in the UK, getting a hire-car, they asked   
   "Would you be alright with an auto-transmission car - are you used to   
   one?"   
   (You couldn't rental a stick-shift car in the USA could you ?! - else   
   it would be a bad idea?)   
   Best wishes and a happy new year   
   Rich S   
   -----------------------------------   
      
   Google says manuals are available to rent in the USA but rare. They are more   
   common in sports cars and of-road 4x4s. I preferred a manual until the job   
   at Mitre involved a half to full hour stop-and-go commute that wore out the   
   pickup's clutch early, so the newer CRV with enclosed space for the parents'   
   weekend luggage and a wheelchair is an automatic. When I switch between them   
   I may have the wrong reflex briefly at busy intersections where   
   concentrating on traffic. I haven't clutched the brake pedal but I may start   
   to reach for the shift lever. Riding motorcycles especially off-road made   
   staying alert to changing conditions ahead and shifting in advance more   
   instinctive.   
      
   I insist on having a tach and pay attention to it, even with an automatic.   
   The tach was the first indication that I had a thermostat problem that kept   
   the engine below full operating temperature where torque converter lockup   
   becomes enabled.   
      
   As Snag wrote, manuals are considered a good anti-theft device.   
      
   Gotta go, elderly neighbor called for help.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)