Dont be a woman...
shift your own gears. Nothing impressive about an auto going fast down the track, but a well driven stick shift is something to watch! The amount you would put into a well built AOD, you could spend a little more and drop in a T-56 Viper spec tranny. Will hold the power, and give you two overdrives for those long cruises. I am the biggest advocator of the standards, and unless your running deep 9s or better, I will never say go auto...
Listen to me or not, me personally, NO AUTO.