Thanks for the comments, everyone!
A couple of notes.
I always thought the contour was a good looking car. If you ask me, it's retained its styling well 4 model years after production ceased. My car in particular did not have leather, a sunroof, a tach, a factory CD player or heated seats...a cheap shot, I know, but for comparison purposes... The Jetta happens to have everything my contour did not, but should have had, seeing as how it was a world car, and, properly optioned could have had a comparable interior when built in late 1999.
As far as the manual goes, I'll say this.
38 miles 1 way in traffic, 5 days a week. If not for that, I would have opted for the manual.
