Automatics irritate me, because they shift when I wouldn't. I'm trying to resign myself to the fact that, with my knees, my next vehicle should probably be automatic.

Perhaps a car with a CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission). Essentially an "infinite-speed" transmission. (Although some people find them annoying too.)

Also, many hybrids have CVTs.

Isaac update: started raining pretty hard, power is still on, red beans are smelling delicious.

Ginger, many new cars these days have six-speed automatic transmissions. Which means your transmission does more shifting, but the difference between adjacent gears is much less, so the shifts are less noticeable.

I learned on a stick and most of my vehicles have been manuals.

One of my students yesterday shared with the class that she drives a stick shift. She clearly felt this was noteworthy. No idea whether or not she is circumcised but frankly that would have been oversharing, at least for the first day of class.

Also can I just add that it is bogus that California's state song ISN'T "California, Here I Come."

Cars with manual transmissions tend to be cheaper than the same model with automatic transmissions. The gear box for the manual transmission tends to last longer than the "slush box" for the automatic transmission. And, depending on how you drive, cars with manual transmissions tend to get better mileage than those with automatic transmissions. So I'm a fan of the stick shift.

My rental in MI had an automatic transmission. It was just different enough to be annoying. At least I didn't try to push in the clutch and end up braking unexpectedly instead. (Well, at least not more than once.)

My first few cars were standards, and I got tired of stop and go traffic with a standard transmission and have been driving automatics since about... 2000?

I'm glad to know I can still drive one, we often have them when we rent them in the UK. Driving a standard on the right side is a weird transition, but doable.

Cars with manual transmissions tend to be cheaper than the same model with automatic transmissions. The gear box for the manual transmission tends to last longer than the "slush box" for the automatic transmission. And, depending on how you drive, cars with manual transmissions tend to get better mileage than those with automatic transmissions. So I'm a fan of the stick shift.

Ford's six-speed auto gets better mileage than a comparable six-speed manual. It's actually a computer-controlled manual transmission with two dry clutches, so it's not a slushbox at all.

They do cost more (like a regular auto transmission), and I can't speak to their long-term reliability. But hey--I did get a software update for mine!

I think more automakers will be moving to transmissions like this due to their excellent fuel economy.

Ford's six-speed auto gets better mileage than a comparable six-speed manual. It's actually a computer-controlled manual transmission with two dry clutches, so it's not a slushbox at all.

Well, that's just cheating.

Seriously, if I could get the mileage and durability benefits of a manual in an automatic transmission, I'd be willing to compromise on the list price.