Have you tried shopping for a new or recent used car with a manual transmission lately? Frustrating! People seldom check off the correct boxes so the cars either all look like they have automatics or "other" depending on the website. Dealers are almost as bad as private sales. I think it's assumed that all cars have automatics.
My beloved 2006 Scion xB was rear ended a couple of weeks ago. It's repairable and I received a check for the full repair from insurance (the other party accepted full liability). Though the car is not totaled, the check is for more than I could sell the car! I was going to have the car repaired then I looked around underneath and, though the floors are solid, there is some perforation around the rear jack points. Between that and the car generally starting to show its age, I think it's time to move on. I'll sell this car as being easily repairable and buy something newer.
I'm looking for a small, nimble hatchback or wagon, great gas mileage, incredible reliability over the life of the car (I'll keep it for 15-20 years), looks that I don't find offensive, relatively flat load area (little or no liftover), and it has to have a manual transmission.
So far, I'm looking for a newer Scion xB, Scion iM/Toyota iM/Corolla Hatch and the Honda Fit (very small). I've left the VW Golf and Golf wagon off the list because I keep cars a long time and work on them myself and VWs are not fun to work on.
What do you people think?