Re: E34's FOREVER!

["Paul F. Kunz" <pfkeb@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

>>>>> On Tue, 2 Mar 1999 05:37:50 -0800 (PST), Joe Mazza <jm0045@domain.elided> said:

> Hi Jay, You may have a point about the new stud. (I'm 53 and
> wondering if I ought to get an automatic (shudder) to carry me into
> my old age.)

   I'm 56 and have no intention to ever buy a BMW with automatic.
The two justifications for buying an automatic I've heard on this
digest are...

- - you have some physical impairment.   I guess this will happen to all
  of us eventually.

- - daily commute involves lots of stop-and-go traffic.

   On this second point, I've developed some techniques which
minimizes the amount clutch work I need to do.   Even stop-and-go
traffic makes forward progress at some average speed.   So I lay back
a bit from the car ahead of me and find that driving in 1st at 1000
RPM might match this average speed.   At the very least, I can reduce
the number of clutch operations by a factor of 3-5.

   Fortunately for me, my daily commute does not yet have a
stop-and-go situtation.   But I do have these stop signs on my route
to the freeway.   Here again, I time my approach so the cars ahead of
me can make their full stop and take off while I'm traveling at
a slowly decreasing speed to need only one clutch operation.   With
only one car ahead of me, this timing is rather easy.   With two cars,
its more difficult, but possible.   

   Has anyone else tried these techniques?

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