From where I come from, this question is rather strange, as I grew up in a place where manual transmission is a standard, and automatic transmission are more geared towards luxury vehicles.  I learned to drive using stick shift, and have been driving so almost half my life.  Of course right now I drive a CVT because of issues with my knee.  Not to mention this is a godsend during hour long traffic jams.  There are less vehicles coming out now with manual transmission.  So, I was wondering, in your part of the world, what type of transmission are most commonly used?  And what would be your preference?

I never learned to drive a standard. I was taught with the automatic, and never had the opportunity or desire to lean a stick.

I have a friend who swears by standard, and that's all he will drive, but I'd say that automatics are the majority here.

Well I do think that for casual drivers, automatic would be the preferred choice of the majority.  But for motorsports enthusiasts, I would guess they would prefer to drive Manual.  There is just this satisfying feeling of control on how you rev the engine.  Especially for racing drivers, they need a certain amount of precision in gear ratio to exact accurate control of the speed especially when turning corners.  I'm very sure that it's very difficult to drift using an automatic transmission.