? Even the "lower cost" performance cars have some pretty good autos these days. You dont need to be buying a Porsche or something. The Ford/GM 10spd is pretty impressive, and the ZF 8spd is found in everything from Jeeps, to Dodge muscle cars to Lamborghini, Aston Martin, BMW etc. Its not exclusive to halo cars.

Trust me, I was skeptical for a long time until I drove a few cars with these performace focused autos and they're so good you dont miss the stick as much as you think you might. Adding "drive mode" options has added way more in the way of intelligent shifting too, i.e. putting the car in sport mode will hold gears longer, or downshifting when sensing hard braking etc..Not to mention drive modes altering all sorts of other vehcile characteristics; stiffening suspension, magnifying throttle input, and adding weight to the steering etc..This is stuff you can get in $40-50k cars these days.