My favorite car ever was my 1986 Toyota Corolla manual. It was my mom’s first and then I inherited it in the late 90s. The tire rod snapped one day and it slammed into a parked car. I was more devastated about losing the car than I was what it would cost me in damages.
I drive an automatic now. A Prius. I don’t regret it because it’s a really good car and was a really good investment in terms of savings on gas, but I do miss that Corolla and I really miss the feeling of control I had when I drove a manual.