Stick was mandatory for me when I bought the vette. I missed shifting, and my other vehicles have all been auto for about 10 years.
I understand why people go auto, and it seems like more vettes in the states are auto, but to me, anything this sporty deserves to be shifted with short, explosive throws.
The Vette has to be a is a manual for me.
The main reason I sold my 1990 C4 vert was because it was an automatic.
My DD's are automatic. Both with tiptronic and the 2012 Passat has paddle shift.
I played with the paddles for the first couple of weeks, but it just goes to the D setting now.
It's not the same shifting without a clutch. Just my personal opinion.
Even in the Ferrari on the race track, I was thinking the same thing while using those paddles. The clutch makes it all come together, as all your major appendages are working in synch to pilot the ship.