Didn't mean to touch a nerve with the AT versus MT thing in the Gen I V6 models! Only reason I mentioned it was because my LWB V6 that died in Amarillo is an MT, and my daughter was looking forward to learning how to drive it.

There's a nice Gen I LWB V6 AT down in Redondo Beach that looks pretty much like mine, but since it's an AT, I can't teach her how to drive a stick with that one. But it's good to know that the AT is a solid tranny, better for wheeling than the MT. She definitely likes the LWB better than the SWB, mainly because of the room (she could sleep in the back and haul more stuff), and the V6 has more grunt than the 4-cyl. Guess I'll have to decide if it's better to have a LWB V6 with an AT or MT, and go from there.

But the most off-roading I expect her to be doing is at the beach, or maybe some light snow, no rock-crawling or anything likely to bend or break parts.