Mattsuzie,

I have held off for a long time because these ^%*&^ would not sell me a stick. My '88 is a stick, one of the very few in the US. I enjoy driving a stick. You don't have a $2,000 repair bill with a stick. I get better gas mileage with a stick. And, I just plain don't want a car with an automatic transmission. I'm enjoying driving in Europe right now, and one of these reasons is, automatic transmissions are rare here. Fuel is expensive and most people are totally content to shift for themselves. It's just my personal preference.

Also, the mark could not EASILY go the other way right now, it has momentum in the direction it's going and MBUSA knows it. They're trying to milk us. And, the more Benz buyers that stand still for it, the more they'll do it. Myself, there's enough risk in buying a new Benz as it is, I had a nightmare with my last new Benz four years ago. I don't want to have to pay more for the priviledge of being %$7^$*. I would like to replace my old stick shift Benz, but I won't do it with an automatic car, and I won't let them nail me again. As I said before, anybody have any suggestions for another brand car?

Alex,

Tax in Texas is 8%. This is another area where, relatively speaking, we have it easy in the US. In Denmark, the tax on a new car is in excess of 100%.

The tax on fuel is, of course, a big thing in Europe right now. We left Derby, England Wednesday with over 3 hours to get to Heathrow airport only 50 miles away. We ended up running for the plane because the truckers were rolling at 10MPH in protest of the 80% fuel price. I didn't blame them too much.

Thanks for the responses,
Larry

[This message has been edited by LarryBible (edited 09-15-2000).]