CVT/PST (in hybrids) or Manual. Not all automatics are made equal. If we put in a complicated automatic machinery, I might as well get the full benefit in terms of efficiency/performance, as otherwise I don't believe the expenditure is warranted.
I've been driving stick all my life and believe that anyone who can't handle a stick has no whatsoever business driving a vehicle. Sure, you do several things at once, but the same applies to driving as a whole. People who can't pay attention to several things shouldn't be out there, they're the ones who kill more people every year than cancer or heart failure.
In the future, cars will drive themselves anyway using GPS... and I say good riddance. I might miss driving, but if it gets rid off all the loonies on the road, I'd still call it a bargain.