Traffic in Paris

I've been driving in Paris for about 6 months now. I have brand-spanking-new Peugeot 307SW, China blue, with leather seats, GPS, a gas engine, and an automatic transmission. The last two points are significant. In France, gas costs a good 20 eurocents per liter more than diesel, and the fuel efficiency is up to 25% less. This means gas engines are considerably pricier than diesel. But they pollute less, make less noise, and generally perform better. In my case, however, I didn't really have the choice, and I almost certainly would have chosen my wallet over the environment if I could have. My constraint was that Peugeot does not make a diesel engine for its automatic transmission - and I simply HAD TO HAVE an automatic transmission. Oh, I can drive a stick shift. Way back in 1987 I owned an Acura Integra standard transmission and there is something viscerally and vitally virile about wrapping your fist around the stick, feeling the gear changes, riding the clutch against all advice. But not in Paris, where a combination of full-time 24/7 stop-and-go traffic and steep and narrow parking garage ramps makes a standard transmission a test of dexterity beyond my capacities. So I wanted automatic.

The French think automatic transmissions are for wusses. They also have odd myths about automatic transmissions being less fuel efficient, unreliable, and generally bogus. But it all comes down to the manliness of fully controlling one's vehicle - and especially the ability to accelerate rapidly over short distances. The brake and transmission business in France is thriving; the Midas shop near our apartment is always crowded.

-- Harley