Hello from Wisconsin. I finally bought my xfire after being a member here for five years ( what took so long, right!). It's a gray 2004, auto. It always seemed that when I found an xfire to buy, life got in the way and the xfire had to wait. I am very much a diy guy, so most repairs and maintenance will be done by me. My last car was a 2001 zx3 focus that I installed a turbo and all that goes with it, changed out the suspension, brakes, and exhaust and replaced them with racing parts. My son is now going to be the owner of the focus. I am usually a manual tranny guy, but in this case I thought the auto was a better choice for this car.