Manual

For years, Honda has teased us with glimpses of the Civic Type R ripping around on foreign soil; a 4-piston piece of Japanese engineered agility and hi-revving revelry with zero interest in sitting on American sales floors.

I know automakers today can get as much power from smaller displacement turbo engines as they can from big V8s or even larger engines. I also know that flappy paddle transmissions are easier to drive every day and can even be faster on the track.

Most supercars and many high-end sports cars are getting away from the manual transmission. Sure, the flappy paddle gearbox can change gears faster than most humans can. Despite the performance advantage of a paddle shift transmission, there is something more intimate and visceral about driving with a real stick shift.