[442w30]

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I think the high perf car's with auto are a little rarer then the 4-speed car's.

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For Pontiacs, that's true. Initially, it was due to the 2-speed auto, although Pontiac's hipo image had a lot to do with it too. Starting in 1967, with the advent of TH400, this changed, but all the hi-po cars (HO and Ram Air) were rarer with autos by a pretty decent margin. This stood true till 1971 with the 455HO. I don't remember the numbers, but they are close, if not more autos built.

With Mopars, they had the excellent TF auto, so even the hipo cars often were built in great numbers with autos. For Hemis, it often was a toss-up, but 440s were much rarer with a 4-speed. For 383s, I don't think the difference was that great. One of the reasons, I believe, for the TF's popularity is the poor Inland shifter, which I believe was replaced mid-1968.

I'm not familiar with Fords to be able to comment, but I love big cars with sticks, and to find a '68 XL GT with a 428 4-speed would be very cool. Speaking of sticks, they were not totally rare in the early days. Starting around, perhaps, 1966, it was becoming a rarity to find a muscle big car with a 4-speed. I know Pontiacs dropped severely during that time.