"I really liked that truck" as in you had a relationship with that mechanism. (Not always affectionate)
A manual shift car/truck/bike requires the driver to pay attention, to feel and understand the mechanical input from the gearbox, suspension, road surface. Like horseback riding, skiing, any athletic activity. I can feel what the suspension, the horse, the water is doing through my own body and react accordingly.
I don't want a self-driving car. The only reason my current daily driver is an automatic is deteriorated knee and shoulder tendons.
When my 2004 Avalon dies, I may have to find something old and rebuild it.