I think that being able to operate a manual transmission is a skill that people should have. It's something that people should understand and be able to do, in case they have to. I can think of a couple of scenarios where a passenger might need to become the driver, where it's not the time or the place to get a crash course. For instance a medical emergency while camping. Or maybe the driver that was supposed to stay sober forgot, and now his non drinking gf needs to drive home. It's not difficult. You just need to understand how to do it, and then practice it long enough that you can do it when you have to.
That said, I got sick of driving manual a couple years ago. I did it through my 20s, and now I'm perfectly happy with my auto, and I don't care what people think. Of course, I drive a pickup. If I drove a sports car, it'd be manual without question. It's just so much fun to drop a gear, take a corner, and then f*** right off.
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