Another disadvantage of automatics, is that nearly all of them run the transmission's 'front pump' off of the engine. This means that there is NO oil pressure in the transmission to apply the clutches if the engine is not running. As a result, you cannot 'push start' the vehicle - either by hand (as later described here) or with another vehicle. If the battery is down, or the starter motor has packed it in, you cannot get it going by coasting it down a grade & putting it into gear. In my student years, when money was tight, i often tried to get the 'last mile' out of batteries and such. Combine that with carelessly leaving the sidelights on whilst driving in the rain, and you can run up a LOT of garage bills for jump starts. Yeh, i carry a set of jumper cables, and have given a LOT more starts than i've received, but you can't always find a willing jump at 3 in the morning during a sleet storm. I have [3 times] 'push started' my MGB in a parking lot BY HAND. This consists of pushing the car to one end of a 'dead level' lot, setting the choke appropriately, pushing the car (either forward or back) by hand as fast as you can, then jumping in, stuffing in the clutch, turning on the ignition, putting it in gear, and easing out the clutch. Whilst doing this (of course), you make sure that the car does not run you over, nor does it hit anything else. Happy starting!!