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in article , Michael Daly at
wrote on 12/1/05 5:08 PM:

On 1-Dec-2005, "Rick Donnelly" wrote:

I have paddled in full storm 50+ mph winds, waves chopped off from those
winds, w/o a rudder. That said, I had a boat that performed reasonably well
w/o a rudder.

Under those conditions, a rudder can work poorly. If you are on short
wavelength waves, the rudder can spend a lot of time out of the water.
I've watched ruddered kayaks zigzag under those conditions while I
tracked straight in a non-ruddered kayak.

Quite right...

I will never buy an automatic transmisson again - not from any manufacturer.
At best, they make driving dull. At worst, they dictate when shifting should
occur (even when it is unsafe), are slow to respond to demands for power,
and they waste fuel.

I'd almost agree, but CVTs, now available on hybrids and some other vehicles
(like the Freestar) can be a significant improvement over conventional
automatics
and provide better fuel economy. I'll give up my standard for a good CVT...
someday.

Mike

Put whatever transmission you want in a Freestar and it's still a piece of
**** (aka a Dirtstar, as those in the biz like to call them).

I'm with Rick, standard all the way. And no frickin' rudder either.