For straight line acceleration an auto will beat a manual every time. Manual comes into its own when the computer does not know what to do. In my examples that horse1 responded to many auto's get confused and do the wrong thing for the conditions. Also when pushing a corner hard they will shift at a bad time or not be there when you punch the throttle. Know several experienced truck drivers that love the auto's almost all the time. But when one needs to do something"weird" they cant do it. The newbee drivers all love not having to shift, since they cant, and dont understand the finer points of driving.
