I agree with the others. Since you probably have a low mileage car, maybe you can trade for a manual? 1st gear is pretty low (about 20 m.p.h. max.), but 2nd pulls about the best out of all as far as I can tell (it gets to 50 m.p.h. quickly) My wife has a '96 Accord AT, and it's not nearly as peppy or fun (of course I have 30 hp over her car too Even after driving a manual for 15 years, I had to get the knack shifting from 1st to 2nd with my '04 for some reason. Maybe it's the gear ratio? I'm used to it now, and it's Also, when the AT dies, it's gonna cost $$$ to replace.