manual or automatic?

> JohnO wrote:
>> Rent a manual trans for the first day of those lessons. After that, go
>> with the Honda.
>>
>> -John O
>
> Goodness, what country are you in? I'm in Noo Joizy (in the USA), and I've
> never seen a rental car with a manual transmission. U-Haul used to rent
> big trucks with a manual, but most of those are automatic now, too, and I
> am NOT renting one of those for my daughter.
>

I'm in Michigan. OK, I haven't see a manual rental in a long time, and
you're probably right...they don't exist. Anyway, the gist of that is "learn
on someone else's clutch."

-John O
 >> Stay informed about: manual or automatic? 

All the other answers about how long clutches have lasted in other maeks and
models are quite irrelevant
to your question. Firstly the WRX has a powerband somewhere between 3500 and
6000 rpm, below about 3000
a GEO Metro would seem faster. A manual tranny is the only way to go to get
the best out of it. If you prefer an automatic, you would probably be
happier in another type of car. I needed a clutch replacement on my WRX at
42,000
which I did not think was too bad. A friend who owned a similar car managed
to get a new one under warranty at 36000 miles. I had an Outback immediately
preceding the WRX and needed a new clutch at 12000 miles which was replaced
under warranty after a lot of haggling with Subaru. Yes, I have got a lot
more miles from other makes before replacing clutches, but not Subaru. An
automatic is probably going to be a lot cheaper to run overall, but like I
say, it's a mismatch for the car.
"grape" <j@s> wrote in message news:cpKdnXzOeLdiJnrfRVn-gQ@mycybernet.net...
> plan to own a impreza 2.5rs wagon, never drove a manual before, but 'd
> like to.
>
> Friends who owned a manual car warned me that in daily commutes, your leg
> will be extremely painful if got jammed in traffic... that hesitated me to
> buy a manual car, is that true???
>
> also, is pre-owned WRX a good option? the price is only around
> $21,000(CDN) where new WRX is about 35000.
>
 >> Stay informed about: manual or automatic? 

In article <dcrkpa02him.DeleteThis@enews2.newsguy.com>,
paul <pharding100.DeleteThis@yahoo.com> wrote:
(snip)
>to your question. Firstly the WRX has a powerband somewhere between 3500 and
>6000 rpm, below about 3000
(snip)

Mmmm, yes. This reminds me: is it possible to find torque-speed curves
or fuel efficiency maps (by rpm and torque) and suchlike for the WRX
engines? I'd be interested to learn more about it, but I've not seen
any of those plots.

When you don't need the power - say, you're just cruising on an empty
highway, what rpm do you aim for?

-- Mark
 >> Stay informed about: manual or automatic? 

KLS wrote:

> They also frequently depress the clutches at higher speeds (30
> mph or so) and leave them depressed while braking rather than engaging
> the appropriate gears.

I'm not sure how this wrecks the clutch, but I suppose re-engaging the
clutch afterwards while travelling at that speed probably isn't too good
for it. Something I always try to avoid is using the clutch as a brake:
there's downshifting, and then there's downshifting without
double-clutching or rev-matching. I wince sometimes when I'm in a manual
and someone doesn't rev-match when they downshift.. that loud whining noise
makes my back teeth twinge.

> Another fun way to ruin a clutch is to rock
> the car at a stop light by partially releasing the clutch and
> depressing the gas just shy of engaging the gear rather than fully
> depressing the clutch and waiting for the light to change before
> releasing the clutch and fully engaging first gear. Just a few
> examples.

These scenarios seem to make much more sense. The instruction manual for my
STi is quite clear: the clutch should only slip when pulling away from a
stop (either in 1st, for normal driving, or 2nd if the road is particularly
hazardous and slippery.)
 >> Stay informed about: manual or automatic?