My wife was driving a stick when I met her. A Fiero GT. When we found the Firebird the 4 speed was a huge bonus. Honestly I probably would have passed on it if it was an automatic. I drove truck for a number of years and always looked forward to getting into on of my sportscars, all sticks, when the day was over. As far at driving in traffic - that's one of the reason I moved to the country!