1960's Mini Cooper S, MGB, stuff like that were good fun for the era, even my 1976 6.8 V8 was manual when I bought it, but things have moved on, my V8 became quicker when I changed to a performance auto, and was more reliable.
Nearly all 4 wheel motorsport is a form of auto now. The autos in street cars are way different to those of yesteryear.
CVT, the latest Auto kid on the block to rid folk of that clutch pedal, which brings fuel consumption to around that of a manual, using your engine's torque for the best possible performance and fuel economy....π
The key for no problems with CVT is the oil/fluid change, change early is better, way more important than a regular auto............π€