I've been driving a stick for the last 30 years, have owned automatics in the past. I feel I have better control in bad weather with a stick.
Also it occurred to me some time back that mine being a stick might make carjackers think twice. I wouldn't leave the ignition turned on for them though. Then maybe he'd gotten mad and shot me.
So maybe the best thing to do would try to run them over. Keep the doors locked.
I have to depress the clutch pedal in my Miata to start the engine too. Also had to do that in my ‘85 Chevy Sprint (the precursor to the Geo Metro).
I also prefer driving with three pedals and an H-pattern shifter.
I have newer Honda Civic stick-shift (that’s not me in the picture). When I bought my stick-shift car 2 years ago the car salesman ask WTH I’d still be buying stick nowadays too much L.A. traffic. Oh well my 10 gallon 89-gas (not full tank yet) can get to 400+ miles city+highway), how about that?