I recently looked at a 1975 Volvo 164 E that a neighbor of mine wants to sell me. I always liked the 164, and I've wanted to get one for quite a while. When I mentioned the situation to some friends of mine at work who are more or less gearheads, one of them told me that I really should look for a 1974 model 164, because they had a bigger and peppier engine than the '75 model did. Also he told me that the automatic transmission in all the 164's was notoriously slow and unreliable. I drove my neighbor's car with an automatic and its acceleration and performance seemed fine, but I haven't driven one with a straight shift, so I can't really compare. So, what do you think? In terms of performance and reliability, should I look for a 1974 instead of 1975, and for a manual instead of an automatic, or does it make no difference?