Originally Posted by brian928

I honestly believe at this point i'm leaning towards the AT, to whoever said their wife can drive it without complaining is another great reason for me to go auto. I love MT vehicles and have driven them all my life but the AT seems a little more comfortable for me and while having drink holders sounds a little silly to be on my list of decision factors, i do enjoy my coffee driving to work in the morning. Also, anyone that lives in the DC Metro region knows the pain of driving a MT in gridlock, so i can accomodate my laziness in traffic and still enjoy spirited driving with the paddle shifters on open roads.

You're right, while the paddles are not quite MT, its really not a bad trade off for such a beautiful car. I also hold on to cars forever, i'm 33 and still driving the car i purchased in college if you can believe that....i'll spare myself the embarrasment of admiting the make and model, suffice it to say, this will be a MAJOR upgrade.

Didn't mean to start a flame war thread on MT v AT, both versions of the G are FANTASTIC cars.

Originally Posted by Garnet Canuck

I honestly don't think you'll have any regrets choosing the AT. Like I stated earlier, I would still prefer the MT......but I am not unhappy with my AT whatsoever. It is still so darn fun to drive.

When will you be getting your G?

Originally Posted by brian928

Well *sigh* i promised my fiance that i would wait until after our wedding, which is in May. After driving my current car for 11 years I don't mind waiting an extra few months. But I've already spec'd out what i want. I've been keeping a pretty keen eye on the negotiated deal thread on this forum...hopefully in a few months there may be a little more wiggle room for negotiation. (At least thats what i'm telling myself to keep my sanity over the next few months.)

Originally Posted by Garnet Canuck

You should certainly be able to negotiate a good deal come May timeframe. I would say worse case scenario would be Invoice. Have you thought about ordering the model you want around February for a May delivery?

Originally Posted by brian928

hmm, i told the saleman that i wanted to order the car rather than settle for one on the lot, he said no problem, would probably take 30 days from the time i place the order. Is he on crack?

Originally Posted by Garnet Canuck

I've never heard of anyone receiving their order that quickly. Most people have waited around 3 months for their order, while I waited over 5 months for mine. I would definitely question your salesman regarding the 30 day delivery.

Originally Posted by brian928

Well *sigh* i promised my fiance that i would wait until after our wedding, which is in May.

Originally Posted by JMZ_blkobsidian

I'd put my funds for the G in a 6-month CD so they don't get blown on flowers or other over-priced wedding stuff.

Originally Posted by brian928

So i've test driven both the AT and MT G35 sport. Both are quite remarkable cars. I've always driven MT cars so i came into both test drives more or less leaning heavily towards the MT. However, after test driving both, it seemed to me that there were some subtle, less refined differences in the MT. These changes (read: disappointments) were located in the center console of the car.

1. in the space that accomodated a drink holder on the AT, the MT had a space with two squares in it, neither square seemed deep enough or large enough to accomodate even a modest sized beverage (maybe a bottled water). When i asked my salesman what it was, he said that that was the drink holder. HUH????? when i asked what type of beverage would fit in there and he quickly started side stepping. I thought, surely this has to be a stripped down version of the MT but my salesman again noted that "some adustments" had to be made to accomodate the MT.

2. The center arm rest. While at a comfortable level in the AT in the MTi felt as though i had to lean/slump downward to the right just to make use of the arm rest.

Has anyone noticed this in your test driving experience? Or for you manual owners out there, please tell me my salesman is clueless and i must have been driving a very stripped down version of the G.

If what my salesman tells me is indeed the case, i hate to betray my love for the manny but i'd almost certainly have to choose the AT.

Originally Posted by Speedoholic

I agree with your observations. It's been the same design since the first Gs came out back in 03'. When I bought my coupe in my 04' I was too much sold on owning a 2-door sport coupe that I just HAD to have in MT. Yeah, I disliked the center console, but the 6MT was something that I had to have on that car.
Now, being 4 years older and having different priorities in life, I can go back to ATs and the right console.

Originally Posted by randman

Hmmm... LOL. I bought a whole bunch of toys before getting married...figured I wouldn't have to justify any purchases to anyone prior to getting married. brian928 - seriously, though congratulations!

I decided to go for the AT for many of the same reasons as other folks. I drive down to the New York City area about once a month. It's hard enough with the traffic, but if you factor in having to deal with the cabbies, while trying to avoid hitting pedestrians, bicycle deliverers, and horse drawn carriages (sometimes all at the same time), AND drinking a soda all at the same time, I figured AT would be the way to go (as Tony Soprano would say - "fugghed aboud it"). And when I'm not in the NYC area, I'm in the snowbelt, so I really wanted the AWD (a major factor in my decision to go for the G35). Plus, the AWD is only available with AT. That was a no brainer for me.

Originally Posted by Blindside

what about performance? i know that the MT has 298 hp and the AT only has 275. but since virtually no one can shift these cars perfectly, do you notice the difference in power? and is the rev-matching on the AT all that it's cracked up to be? TIA