[Gealii]

agreed with above the reason older autos are considered worse then manuals is because you have to use the torque converter to get better mileage when accelerating. The torque converter is basically controlling the transmission like a manual still not as efficient though. This is why normal people think modern autos are better than manuals due to the torque converter locking up more often than older ones.

I find on my '02 grand am it is much much easier to lock up the torque converter in top gear and only after the transmission has warmed up. I can get it to lock up in lower gears but its much harder to do