[Fat Charlie]

The first time I lost power brakes when I needed them, I learned everything I needed to know about the problem. Power brakes or no, you want a healthy buffer in front of you so that you don't have to use the brakes period. That alone makes it safer, and once you've learned how much power assist your car stores then the problem is solved.

Increased wear on the clutch is only a factor if you should really be driving an automatic. The only clutch I've ever needed to replace was the one that got drenched with oil when the rear main seal went. The voltage problem with starting while moving makes so little sense that it doesn't even count as wrong. The engine doesn't know or care where the force that starts its crankshaft spinning comes from, and a good bump start is more gentle on the engine than using the starter motor: watch the tach the next time you start it with the key and note how high it jumps before it drops down to idle. A bump start is more of a nudge- it gets things moving and the engine climbs up to idle speed.

Most of my glides are with the engine on, but on the long ones I shut it off. Long downhills, stretches with tollbooths or almost certain stops at the end and the like. I'm not constantly bump starting, but I am constantly in and out of gears.