Vehicle shopping...need opinions

[OakLeaf]

I get annoyed that less and less of the affordable, yet with some bells and whistles, cars come as manuals.

I'm guessing that all cars will have CVT sooner than later, if they actually let the proposed fuel economy standards go into effect. It's a pretty simple way to maximize efficiency.

The funny thing about the Prius is that when the gas engine kicks on and off, it basically feels just like a regular AT shifting. So you still get those klunks, just for a different reason.