[Shark_Bait88]

Like I said, I completely understand the reasoning behind the AT offering and choosing it as an option.

To clarify: I think the reason some MT drivers "look down" on AT drivers isn't because they just have free time and want to complain about someone else's choices because of their own insecurities, but rather it's because they see the sale of automatic sports cars as a contribution to the death of the manual transmission. It leads them to believe that all manual transmissions will be done away with, or only offered as a marked-up option in the future.

Can any of us honestly deny that you do not have more control in a car with a stick shift and clutch pedal? It grants you more control over your revs etc.

Granted, automatic transmissions with manual/paddle shift options are getting much much better at replicating this level of control, and indeed the best ones shift much faster than any manual. As someone who works for one of the largest transmission manufacturers in the world, I know this very well.

Of course Ferrari, Porsche, Corvettes, Lamborghinis, etc. are all amazing sports cars with flappy paddle shifters. However, when you watch/read many of the reviews and chatter around them, there isn't necessarily a demand that the cars be made with manual gearboxes but rather a slight longing for that more connected feeling that rowing your own gears gives you. In a car that is all about connecting the driver to the car to the road, some people believe that manual should be the only option because it heightens that experience of being connected.

I am not saying that I actually believe that only manuals should be offered in these cars, because I certainly understand the reasons why people would choose the automatic. I am more playing devil's advocate. I think the tables have kind of reversed in this thread, and anyone who thinks the MT is better is being painted as some smug **** up on their high horse. I think that most of the views really do lean more towards a concern for the exponentially declining number of manual cars in the market.