What is a typical cost for an automatic in Europe? The premium here in the USA is typically $800-$1200. I prefer standard shift myself and find it nearly impossible to find them as few dealerships are willing to stock them. I don't think manuals account for even 10% of auto sales in the US these days.
Matt
You guys keep mentioning ABS being good on ice. I thought ice was one thing that it was universally agreed that ABS is horrible on. What did I miss?
Bill Putney (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address with the letter 'x')
Pahgh? I'm offended! That's gotta be some kinda slur or somethin'!
I think ABS is poor on soft surfaces such as deep snow and sand. These are two exceptions to the "don't lock the wheels" rule. Locked wheels will stop faster in such conditions. I haven't heard about ABS being worse on ice than non-ABS. I'd think it would be better as it could control individual wheels. The only place I believe that ABS is a detriment is in the special cases where you really WANT to be able to lock the wheels.
Matt
It depends on the car, but I'd say GBP 1000 - 1500 is not an overestimate. In my own case (2001) the auto gearbox was actually included in the base price, but then it's a brand whose buyers tend to prefer auto for many of the models (Mercedes). I bought mine in Germany, where manuals for Mercs are more popular, but in the UK the vast majority of Mercs are sold with auto.
I don't know what the overall percentages manual:auto in Britain or western Europe are, but auto accounts for much less than half.
I had the impression from some posts here that auto on the US is very cheap, so I am a bit surprised it is as much as USD 1200, but it is still a lot less than here.
DAS
For direct contact replace nospam with schmetterling
Most of the auto makers now have a web site that allows you to "build and price" a car, so you can easily check a few models if you want to get concrete numbers.
Matt
OK - I was going from memory (always dangerous) of one of the heated political marathon threads that took place on RAMC a couple of years ago. I defer to you or anyone else on the subject.
Bill Putney (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address with the letter 'x')
So, pick a lower gear with your auto-stick when you're stuck in traffic...
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