though mostly it comes down to driver prefrence, there are some pros and cons with a auto
Pro-No clutch action required, meaning no clutch replacement (I've replaced 3 already, but thats because i was learning)
Hard to stall the vehicle, thus saving your pride
Cons- stated before, if u slide downhill in an auto....lookout below....
Need to be carefull of overheating
Not as much driver skill required
Heres an article about the 4 speed
http://www.allpar.com/mopar/four-speed-automatics.htmlan article about the six speed
http://www.rockcrawler.com/features/newsshorts/04september/jeep_six_speed.aspAlso note that the manual has a higher first gear ratio 4.46:1 compared to 3.00:1 from the auto.
also found out that both have the same axel ratio 3.73!?! this seems low, could be because my TJ is 4.10 hmmm anyone else got info on this?