I learned on a stick, and some of the best cars I've ever owned have been sticks. However, it's a dying art. Few people want anything other than a manual transmission these days, and sticks are actually hard to find.
When I bought my current car, I did some research concerning the efficiency of today's manual vs. automatic transmissions, and I had to concede that automatic is better for fuel efficiency.
Also, I have to agree with someone above who commented on "easy clutches". Every straight-drive car I ever owned had an easy clutch; however, I HATE driving my husband's car. The clutch is located in an inconvenient spot for my short legs. The result is that I have to essentially STAND UP on the clutch, meaning I have to actually lift my rear from the seat to press the clutch all the way to the floor. I constantly stall out and look like I can't drive at all, but the real reason is that the car is simply ill-suited to a very short person. He has no trouble with it, but he's a foot taller than I am.