Quote Originally Posted by DWood View Post
04 Hatchback Automatic, I didn't buy it for the trans. Drive manual or auto without worry. Been driving a 88 Grand Am coupe with 5spd manual and 89 5th Avenue with auto. This Aveo is my first 21st century car.
I asked for the manual option when I bought my Aveo new, because you're only going to get so much power out of a 1.6L engine. It's saved my bacon a few times when I had to near redline to get up to speed in a hurry. And in some cities I've passed through like LA, it would have sucked to have an automatic getting onto the interstate. I think the newer small cars with auto have paddle shifters for that particular problem, like the Honda Fit.

That said, if I were getting a car with a powerful engine, I'd definitely go with an automatic, just because I hate driving a stick in stop and go traffic. Luckily I don't do that too much where I live.