Chevy 305 must be the only other driver in MA besides me who still uses the directionals!..he's right,the drivers here DO suck,probably the worst on the east coast..

--my middle finger gets quite a workout daily around here..people suck,have no common courtesy and dont care if they run you right off the road..it is especially bad now,since its "the holidays",and all the soccer moms are flocking to the Wal-Mart nearby,at breakneck speeds..average about 5 wrecks a day at the entrance to the Wal-Mart parking lot..
I prefer an automatic in my 4x4's--I've had a few SM465's--nice rugged tranny,but the gearing sucks --first gear is for crawling only,too low in second gear,and third gear is way too high ,the motor bogs when you upshift--4th felt like an overdrive in my K5..maybe if I hadn't had 3.08 axles I'd have liked it better..but I got tired of doing clutches once a year (or more,couldnt buy a good clutch it seemed,all failed rapidly,and I didn't ride them or abuse them)..
I dont think the newer automatics hold up very good either--not just GM,every manufacturer seems to be unable to make an overdrive automatic that lasts over 100,000 miles--ever since they went to "computer controlled" shifting and pack trannies full of failure prone wires and solenoids,they have all been troublesome and fail easily in my experience..we need a REAL heavy duty tranny,like an Alison or something,that has overdrive and NO computer controls..