[Idyllchat] Single traveler

[Jerry Clancy]

Hate to be a contrarian, but I actually prefer a stick shift in places like Italy or Provence, anywhere I am likely to encounter very hilly terrain. I find the ability to up and down shift as needed in the hills and mountains much more to my liking. Automatics can be much more sluggish in these conditions. Besides, sticks get better mileage (and petrol is really expensive) and automatics typically carry a large premium in most of Europe.

For what it's worth.

Jerry

At 11:52 AM 1/28/2008, Jay Cloidt wrote:

>That's a good point. Most first time travelers to Europe do not realize that a manual transmission is usually the default from rental car companies. I know I didn't. You need to request and reserve an automatic transmission.
>
>The first time I traveled to Europe, my boss and I got in the rental car. I was driving. I looked down and said, "Wow, it's a stick". My boss got this panicked look on his face, and said, "You know how to drive one, don't you?". I replied, "Sure. I just wasn't expecting it." Unless you rent a high-end sports car, American rental car companies never have manual transmissions, and it just caught me off guard.
>
>Sometimes it works in your favor. I was traveling to Germany with a colleague who did not drive stick, so we reserved a mid-sized automatic. When we got to the rental counter in Frankfurt, they had just rented the last Opel Vectra automatic. They upgraded us to a Mercedes Benz. That was a great trip.
>
>On my last 2 business trips to the Netherlands, the rental cars were automatic by default. I didn't request it. But that's not a guarantee. This was Hertz, but other companies may have other policies. Automatics are becoming more common in Europe, but they are not entrenched like here in the US.
>
>  - Jay in New York