RE: Manual?
To give auto's their due:
They used to be horrible, power sucking scourges that stole power and efficiency, and charged you extra for doing it. Modern automatics are technologically excellent, and short of a race environment, can come close enough to a manual's performance in most cases. If you're a bracket racer at the dragstrip, the consistency of the automatic is your best friend. As several have mentioned here (I'm lazy and not looking up specifics) some auto versions of new cars are even faster than their manual counterparts.
BUT... for an enthusiast who wants to be involved in the driving experience, there is no substitute for a manual. You have a much more direct interaction with the car and the engine in particular when you shift the gears yourself. You learn where in the RPM range it's "happy" and making power vs. too low and lugging it, or too high and it's running out of breath at the top end. It makes you think about what speed you are going when you are slowing down or accelerating so that you choose the proper gear. You know instinctively what (approximate) speed you are going based on RPM and what gear you are in.
To use an analogy, it's kind of like traction control. Unless you're an amazing driver, you're not really going to be faster around a corner with it turned off, but some people just like to be able to catch their own slides. It's the feeling of control, and the excercise of skill that makes driving fun. Same thing for a manual. The performance advantage is much smaller than it used to be, but the driving experience is still much better.
No hating to those who like autos better. It's OK to like a car just because it looks cool and has lots of power. If that's what matters, just get the auto. But if you fancy yourself a car junkie, you owe it to yourself to at least learn to drive stick.