In message

, at 09:13:11 on Sun, 26 Oct 2014, Recliner
remarked:
There is the "with a manual you get better control" thing, but most
drivers drive not for the experience but for getting from A to B, so
that isn't a massive concern to them.

Unless it also has traction control I'd prefer a manual to an automatic
in slippery (and icy) conditions. That's another cultural difference
between the USA and elsewhere - they will buy a huge 4wd SUV as a family
runabout without batting an eyelid.

Don't all modern cars have traction control? I thought it was mandatory in
the EU.

If it is, then it's passed me by. Seems a bit of an overkill for an
entry-level Ford Focus. And of course we don't all buy new cars (my
current one is an "R" reg).

The best vehicle I ever had in snow had the opposite of traction
control: A Series 2 SWB Landrover with the diff-locks on. That drove
like it was on railway lines. Although once you got onto a less slippery
road the lines went straight-ahead only!
--
Roland Perry