I want to see them try to drive a manual in stop and go traffic or with a bad ankle and then see what they say after. Lel.
What? In Europe (and most of the world) manual is the norm, and although auto is definitely a lot easier, I don't know a single person who has issues with slow moving/stop and go traffic, nor with bad ankles. I mean if you have a bad right ankle you're still going to be fucked if you're driving an automatic. Of all the arguments against manual, that was the weakest I've ever heard.
I want automatics to get to the point where they're 99% as good as manual, at which point the safety aspects of not having to worry about shifting and having both hands free would make them worth while. Until then, there's no reason to get one really; shifting is muscle memory anyway.