Is this how mostly all manual cars' transmissions are engineered?

HEllo, I have a 1995 240sx, and as i took apart the shifter boot the other day i noticed a lot of oil accumulating underneath the pyrmaidish rubber boot that clings around the shfit neck as well as all over the flat rubber boots underneath. are all cars engineered with the shifter and transmission right there? (i can see right through to the ground as well)

http://home.comcast.net/~rogoman/images/s14_shifter.jpg

Yup, at least on RWD cars. The shifter stick usually pokes up through a hole in the floor. There are several reasons for this. First, the transmission and engine are on flexible mounts. Having the shifter be attached to the tranny instead of the car is much easier to design. Its also a much more positive shift feel. Some trannys use a shifter that is connected to the tranny with cables and the shift stick itself is mounted to the floorpan. Many FWD cars are this way. The problem is that cables wear out, stretch, and have more play in them. The shifters also tend to be noisy and clunky since they attach to the floor pan itself. Since your shifter attaches directly to the tranny, that clunkyness is not there.

The basic needs are a stick that rides in a ball joint or pivot of some kind, and the shift rail itself in the tranny.

The one downside with those shifters is that the gear whine noise can be directly transmitted up the stick. That's why many have rubber or plastic joints somewhere to minimize those vibes.

thanks - its just i am afraid of inhaling oil - as i have seen white smoke arise from my shift boot several times, does oil normally accumulate in shifters?

It's likely the seal around your shifter is leaking. The actual shift lever and the top of the transmission should be dry. You should only see oil when you unbolt and remove the shift lever from the transmission itself and look inside.

i'll go to the dealer and get the seals replaced, thanks