Hey, my '98 with automatic is still a very nice car. I bought if for my daughters to learn to drive on expecting they'd learn stick on my 535is after they'd learned how to stay between the lines, etc. But I enjoy it, too. Especially when I have to go to DC and get stuck in endless traffic jams on I-66 or the Beltway. Nothing wrong with the automatic. Nice short diff to maximize what little power there is and yet it still delivered 32mpg at an average speed approaching 90mph on the way back from Texas where I purchased it. Never gets less than about 28mpg even in my "city" traffic in Charlottesville. By the way, I use mid-grade gas with no problems.
-Phil |