My wife is really, really uncoordinated and a manual wouldn't work for her. I've had numerous semi-automatics in rentals before and none really did anything for me - probably because your left foot isn't doing anything, the stick goes one way to upshift, the other way for down (never back and forth) and I coast a lot which means I have to put it in regular drive, then neutral instead of just taking it out of gear.

What really bothers me is the complete loss of the option - it's sort of a loss of freedom or the ability to at least choose what you want. It's not something where one is truly superior to the other like your spark advance. For a lot of us it's fun vs. boring, and boring is taking over because it seems to be more economical to build to one standard basic configuration and modify smaller options from there.

Mustang a 5 speed manual that shifts more smoothly and easily than any manual I've driven. Great fun for longer runs.

Ranger has the 5 speed automatic. Perfect for grocery hauling in town stuff.

It's nice to have a choice.

(edit) The more crowded traffic becomes the less enjoyable driving becomes. This makes me tend to appreciate the comfort features more and the performance features less.

Meaning, in traffic jams that turn freeways into parking lots, I love my stereo and air more than the V-8 power, 5 speed, and tuned suspension. Far too often these days, the performance features go unused because of traffic. The comfort features are used constantly.