The main point with exchanging links is that it should really be tied into your website's content. So if you have a web design website in New York, try and get as many "related" links as possible, in and around new york, or new york based, especially if these are the low-importance sites (I would say low PageRank, but
PR doesn't really mean much).
This is a practice very difficult to stick to, especially if someone offers you a bigger
PR link on an unrelated site. sfod_d223 has put it perfectly when he/she says "Anything with Automatic tied to it is usually not good for exchanging or for SEO purposes".