thanks larryyes, i had heard that the first upgrade needed on the corolla was a change of tires. i'll look into the goodyear brand you mentioned. as far the issue with manual over automatic it is hard to say how i will feel about it in 2 years. right now i am having a blast! i am 27 years old (and live in memphis, tn - to answer my canadian friend's question) and have never driven a stick until about 2 months ago. my father bought a 5 speed 1990 camry and taught me how to drive it. coming from a completely automatic background it was not an easy transition. however when i finally got the hang of it my automatic jeep just seemed a bore to drive. i am sure i will have days when i will curse owning a manual but i sense those days will be far and between. at the moment i'm just having fun!
h.
hhjack:
OK, well I guess something different is always a challenge and a bit of fun at first. I have owned numerous stick-shift automobiles, in four different countries (US, Korea, Germany, UK) and during my Air Force career, had to drive everything from Jeeps (the typical military M-151 style) to tractor-trailers. So I've done my fair share of gear-changing. I can't say I'll never again own a stick shift vehicle, especially since I'm looking for a "beater" of a pickup truck and may not be able to be choosy over type of transmission if a good one shows up on my doorstep. However, my primary "car" type vehicle will most likely always be automatic from now on, and hopefully, it will be my '03 Corolla for a VERY long time to come. It just went over 25,000 miles today -- I bought it in Oct. '02. I filled up the tank today to the tune of 30.9 MPG in 70% city driving with a lot of idling time for warming-up, something I do a lot in the Winter. Corolla's are great! A neighbor of mine has an '86 and it looks and runs terrific! I keep telling him he should do a major restoration, but in reality, it doesn't need it! Well, I'm rambling, so I'll just say good luck with your Corolla and keep reading the forum!