In a message dated 11/22/00 7:52:07 AM Eastern Standard Time,
OsbornSmyth@GATEWAY.NET writes:

<<   Just a survey.  Can anyone offer evidence of performance/torque
 differences between the manual and the automatic?  I have had a manual 90 gl
 for two years,  and have been thinking about purchasing a 91 Carat MV,  which
 is an automatic.  Are there some torque advantages/disadvantages to the
 automatic?  Is there a significant weight diffenence between the manual and
 automatic transmissions?
  >>

yes, the automatics are more reliable.  sounds strange, but its true.  the
4spd manual trannies all have a problem w/ the 3/4 slider hub developing a
crack necessitating rebuilding the whole trans.  ive owned a few vanagons,
always had more probs w/ the manuals, never had any probs w/ the autos.  top
end performance is the same, manual vs auto.
 buy a porsche if you want a racecar.....
chris