Yeah, it's just that... it's getting harder to get manual transmission in the USA, and flat out, I'm in my late forties now (so I'm already having to acknowledge that some things will need to change as I get ever older) and wasn't really into performance anyway, although it makes certain snowy conditions and driving back from the mountains much easier to manage. The snow, it doesn't hurt that my current "steed" is AWD. If I require much more than that to get to work when it snows, then I should be staying home anyway. 
"You know how parents tell you everything's going to fine, but you know they're lying to make you feel better? Everything's going to be fine." - The Doctor