Saldous. I live in scotland and bought a graphit auto stick. Traded in my 330ci sport BMer for it and have never looked back.

I do not agree with drunkig on his comments of the auto stick. It may not shift as fast as a bmw M3 with there smg but it is much quicker than the standerd BMW auto transmissions. It also has a feature that allows you to go into a coner, brake and by pushing the stick to the left and holding the car will pick the perfect gear to exit the corner quickly.

I do not agree with rob m comments about re-sale value but, do agree with you. it will sell for more in the UK. Autos are the norm in the US stick shift being the exception. Over in the UK it is the opposit. Plus in the UK very few will buy a stick shift merc as they have a rep for not being very good, but you may already know that.

The choice between stick and auto is up to you. I like the auto because I use the car everyday and must travel, rush hour, on the M8. After a 12 hour shift I far perfer it to the BMW 5 speed.

As far as the 350z. I looked at the car for a long time at the glasgow motoshow and the dealer.

Never drove it but, the style and the engine did not suit me. The engine is french and I have had bad experiances with french cars did't want to take the chance.

Hope this helps.