While I enjoy my T-5, driving it is more work, especially for a daily driver.

JamesC

While I wouldn't buy a car I intend to drive hard and fast without a manual, I don't have to sit in bumper-to-bumper traffic every day. If its going to be a weekend toy, or you only sit in traffic for short periods of time, then the manual is definitely more fun. If you're commuting 2 hours each way to work every day in heavy traffic I think you'll find the auto more enjoyable.

In my experience, they are few and far between, granted the market for these cars in general is slim in Colorado. You live in california so I would assume youll have an easier time but I would expect to have to look a little and to have to pay a nice premium for an iroc 5 speed tpi car versus the slew of auto cars out there.

RIght on thanks everyone.

I have a 91 TBI car with the factory 5MT, I haven't driven it all that much due to it's project car status but on its 200 mile trip back it was perfectly fine, clutch wasn't overly stiff the gears were easy to engage, also the clutch throw and takeout were nice, plenty of torque to let it slip and take off without much throttle input.

I drive a SAAB 9000 with a 5MT daily so I'm biased, I would much rather have a manual than an auto car any day of the week, rush hour or not.

But like 300 said, finding one may be an issue, especially if your just looking for a coupe/non T-top car like I was.

I will be removing the T-5 in the future to make way for a Super T-10 4MT, but it's going to be a full on racecar by that time.

I actually learned to drive on an '83 berlinetta w/ manual. I despise auto trannys. However, I will agree that if you spend a lot of time in traffic, a manual f-body is not the way to go.
The thirdgen t-5 has a very heavy clutch w/ a long travel. This makes it really fun to drive aggressively and power shift, but makes it a real workout in traffic. It was fun to learn on, I did a lot of stalling at traffic lights until i figured it out. My only issue with the thirdgen manual tranny is the clutch travel goes down so far, i have to move the seat too far foward with my short legs. When I rebuild mine, im going to modify the pedal to a higher position.
Its always fun switching to my other car, 1999 passat turbo as the clutch (as well as everything else) is completely opposite.

i too have the short leg problem with my 88 firebird. also, being australian the stick is on the 'wrong' side, so it's also funny changing gear with right hand. it changes smoothly enough for a twenty something yo car. Since you say you don't like autos, new ones are much better. My 2yo Ford Falcon is 6 spd auto and it's silky smooth.

I drove a RHD stick once and it was pretty wierd. moslty because the shift pattern seemed backwards.
Its not the smoothness of the autos that bug me, just seems like there is no upside except stop and go traffic. manual trannies get better mileage, are usually faster and a lot more fun. Also, on every car forum of which Im a member it seems 90% of the small problems and a lot of the big ones are auto tranny issues. Why add less reliability to the package as well?

All my cars (except my '84 T/A) are 5-speeds. One of my 1988 GTA's has a Centerforce clutch and I find that a pain in the left knee if you know what I mean.

On the other hand, my daily driver is a 1989 Firebird 2.8 stroker with a 5-speed and that thing is a tank - even in snow!!! I wouldn't trade it for an automatic in a million years.

So, the V8's are a pain in commuter traffic due to the heavier clutches, but the V6 5-speeds are great. Also, in bad weather, you can use that clutch to get out of a lot of situations easier than with the automatic - in my opinion.

I just rebuilt my T5 this past winter and it seemed pretty easy. It was the first time I've ever rebuilt a transmission and I only had to buy about $20 worth of tools and the kit was less than $150 including shipping. I'm considering rebuilding the 4L60E in my truck this fall and it's not looking quite as easy. I'm also looking at having to beg/borrow/steal/fab several tools as well as at about $250+shipping in parts. Manuals are definitely more fun to drive and seem to be much, much easier to work on IMHO. I also like being able to downshift at will to pass someone or get up a big hill instead of having to put the pedal to floor and pray that it downshifts.