I greatly prefer sticks, but since I typically buy used, I usually end up with automatics - there just aren’t that many sticks out there.
I drive my cars to at least 150k, and I’ve had to rebuild the trans on every automatic car I’ve owned at least once. The last one, I rebuilt preemptively when I bought it. I like working on cars, but I just don’t find much joy on working on automatic transmissions - so much that can go wrong on assembly, and getting them in and out of a modern car is a ginormous PITA. Engines are more fun, at least for me.
Next car (or truck) is going to be a stick. I’ll pay extra or wait until I find the right vehicle if I have to.
Most fun stick I ever drove was a big old ford dump truck. Probably mid 60s. I drove it in the late 80s at my first job. Had what seemed like a three foot stick and a two foot throw, plus a two speed rear. The seat was sprung and bounced no matter how smooth you shifted, and the air brakes were touchy. Was like an amusement park ride to drive, and I was the only one who could drive it with any degree of smoothness. Fun times.
I haven’t owned an automatic since 1979.
I learned to drive a stick in a 1964 Beetle. Good part about it was, you learned how to shift properly because if you messed up, the little 50 hp 4-cylinder conked out on you. I learned fast on hills! :-)
I figure while they're busy trying to figure it out I'll have time to produce my fire stick and surprise them.
When I still lived in downtown Buffalo, it was a great comfort to me that young Amish people haven’t been taught how to drive a standard.
My dad always described the 5-speed on his BMW as “The Ultimate anti-theft machine.”
MGD was warned by friends that our marriage might not survive him teaching me to drive a manual transmission. But he is as exceptional a teacher as I am a student and we’ve been shifting happily ever after.