I like a manual gearshift. Using it properly and smoothly is a very nice skill to acquire and makes you a more active participant in controlling the car. I did hire an auto once (by accident) and it was a cinch once I remembered that it wasn't a manual box and I stopped throwing my passengers through the windscreen. But it did drink petrol (not an issue for yanks, of course, who pay next to nothing for fuel, sadly for the planet) and they are expensive to buy. No point!