I have always just preferred the more involved interaction with the car when you have a manual transmission. I like that I know better than the car does that there is a hill coming, and I might want do downshift at the bottom of the hill and accelerate smoothly, rather than drop two gears partway up the hill and floor the throttle to compensate for lost speed. I like that I can downshift at the top of a hill to help the car slow down going down a hill instead of riding my brakes and warping my rotors.
I like that I can use the gears and the rear end to control the car better around corners. Speaking more on different cars that I owned before the Vette, and more often than not on snow or ice, but still a valid point. Automatic with paddle shift could possibly do the same thing, but I still prefer having the ability to jab the clutch if the slide gets out of hand, which you can't do with the auto.
I have had manual transmission cars whenever possible ever since I got my driver's license. My first car was a manual, so I learned pretty young. Up until I got married, I have always preferred a manual transmission. Alas, my wife only has two feet, so three-pedaled cars are restricted to just me. hehe. It's a security feature of sorts! I actually had to trade my daily (the only car I have ever purchased brand new) because it was a 6-speed manual, and my wife couldn't drive it. Now I have a station wagon, with an automatic!
I get better gas mileage with my manuals than anyone I have ever known with an automatic. I get to choose my throttle application, I get to choose my shift points, and with a manual, I don't even need to follow the gear patterns. I often go 1-2, 4, 6, or 1, 3, 5.
It is also something special when you bite down, intentionally stab that left pedal down, and move that fantastic leather-wrapped MGW short-shifter into "warp speed Scotty". The sound and feel of that shifter schlick-thumping into place is so satisfying. I dream about those sounds. lol.
Yeah, to me the Vette is a special car, and that whole manual experience is a huge part of what makes that car so special and wonderful. It's a full-body experience! Mashing the clutch with your left leg while you modulate the gas with your right, banging gears with your right hand and trying to point this rocketship with your left hand. All the while your heart is pounding, muslces are tensing, it's a visceral experience.
Automatics are nice too. They allow you to appreciate those additional upgrades like heads-up display, or XM Radio, or fiddle with the heated seats, or even, let the wife drive.