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Originally Posted by ILVMYGT
But so far no one answered the question. There have been lots of slams about buying an automatic.
By the way I have been driving standard transmissions for the last thirty-four years and drive one (88 Fireo GT 5 speed) to work everyday. I also have a 5 speed in my truck and put a 10,000# trailer with it. I think I know how to drive a standard transmission. How many of you have lost the clutch linkage and had to shift without the clutch? I had that happen on 2 cars. The first car was a 64 NOVA SS with bored out 283 and 4 speed. Broke the clutch cross shaft 4 times, because it had a racing clutch. The other car was a 65 Corvair Corsa Convertible that I broke the clutch cable. Drove the cars home by starting in first gear and power shifting. How many of you have shifted without using clutch?
There are several reasons why I may go with and automatic. The first one is that my wife prefers to drive an automatic. Yes, she can drive a standard buy prefers to drive an automatic. Second, I work at a place that requires 100% ID check at the entrance. This can take anywhere from 1-2 minutes to longer then ½ hour. On a daily basis this gets tedious. Third is traffic.
Did you know that this transmission (Hydra-matic 5L40-E) has a feature call Drive Shift Control (DSC)? This feature is available on the Cadillac. “The CTS adds the Driver Shift Control DSC) feature, which allows the driver to manually select gears using the shift lever in a special console gate position.” I don’t know if it is available on these cars.
I am still looking at getting an assessment of what the differences might be.
Thanks
I always get a kick out of how many people on here are Fiero owners. I too am a Fiero owner. I think I've had somewhere in the neighborhood of 9 different Fieros in the past 10 years that I've been licensed. I've never wrecked or junked one, but I buy them cheap, fix them up, etc... It's a great little car, and... I hope no one takes this the wrong way, I still... HANDS DOWN prefer my 87 Fiero SE / V6 over my Solstice for fun / sporty driving. Don't get me wrong though, this Solstice is the bomb, and I never ever intend to sell it.. ever.
Anyway, to answer your question. I don't have a definitive answer for you based on facts, but I CAN say though, that with what I have had experience with, I know that newer GM transmissions are quite a bit more efficient than they used to be. You might be familiar with the 3-Speed TurboHydromatic 125C that was offered in the Fieros.
Modern GM transmissions are quite a bit more efficient (sames goes for Ford actually). The shifts are firmer, less heat and slippage, and the gears are tighter. The experience I've had with my 4T60E Automatic in the two 97 Grand Ams that I've owned have been QUITE good. They shift quick and firm (in stock form).
That said, if you happen to pull up to a stick shift Solstice at a stop light, unless someone like Michael Schumacher is driving it, there's probably a pretty good chance that you'll beat him considering that the transmission will be able to shift quicker than he will.
One thing to consider when comparing it to the Fiero... as you know, the Fiero has a transversally mounted FRONT WHEEL DRIVE layout that's simply placed in the back. With transverse transmissions, the differential is built into the transmission. On our Solstices, the differential is built into the rear end. So, there's an excellent chance that the automatics will probably come with the same rear-end gear ratios as the manuals.
I suspect that the difference would be negligeble to none. And it's quite possible that it might be quicker on the shifts than your average stick shift driver.
But like I said, I don't have any facts, that's just my first impression...
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I love it when they scream...