New whip. :)

[XIII]

As far as gas mileage goes, that depends on the driver. Most people that drive stick are sitting at a red light going, "VOOOM VOOM VOOOM VOOOM!" that's not very efficient.

Performance wise, yeah I suppose. But again, I've driven stick and I've driven automatic, and I've driven in between (the BMW allowed you go switch gears manually or drive automatically, but it wasn't full manual). Automatic is much more pleasant to drive. Let's face it, no one here drives a super car. You're not impressing anyone with your driving, or your car's engine.

Honestly, I think it's just a smug thing that people do. They try to inflate their own egos by saying you are a superior driver by using standard transmission. Let me tell you, I've seen a LOT of shitty drivers that can do standard trans.

Although, when I get rich and I buy my M3... you better believe it'll be standard. But my little VW... I don't need to get "SUPERIOR PERFORMANCE!" out of a 190bhp vehicle.