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> I plan to get a manual, anyway, when I get a car. For one thing, apparently that slices about $1,000 off the cost, over here.

That's a good point. I haven't bought a car since 1999, but even then, I saved $1200 by getting a manual. The savings doesn't end there. The manual is cheaper to maintain and gets you better gas mileage. It is also almost 100 pounds lighter than the automatic, so there is that much less weight to carry around.

Modern transmissions with synronized gears and five speed are a lot of fun to drive. I learned on cars that had three speeds, not syncronized in first gear, and pitifully weak engines.
Howard