[silver]

auto's rob a lot of power and control the shift points messing up the use of your powerband.

as for gas mileage, you can easily get worse mileage on a manual since you can take your rpms sky high every gear.

learning to drive it took about two months for me to be completely comfortable, especially in the very hilly terrain where I lived. after you get used to it though you really don't even notice that you're shifting gears, you just do it. when you are really on and going you feel like you're one with the car and you can control your acceleration and deceleration perfectly.

i guess that means i like manuals.