How my BMW’s sunroof and manual gearbox saved my skin:
Was driving through Dunwoody (an Atlanta suburb) one moring coming into work. This is the morning after we had heavy rains and wind from hurricane Katrina. Was going just under 30mph (3rd gear) in a school zone.
Heard a massive BOOM
just to the right of my car. Looked up through the sunroof and saw a power transformer had exploded and was raining sparks all over. Needless to say, I floored the accelerator and took off.
In my rearview mirror, about 1 second later, a big old oak tree collapsed across the road sending twigs and leaves all over.
If I’d had an automatic, the car would first have had to kickdown and then accelerate. And I’d be filling out an insurance claim on my totaled ride. Probably would have been trapped in the car for a while, as well.