Mine is a sonic blue (that is the darker blue, the other lighter shade they have is windviel blue)coupe. I love convertibles but since this is my daily driver in Michigan a coupe is just a better choice. I find red cars attract too much of the wrong kind of attention from the constabulary. Actually the stick is standard equipment. The auto is a $995 option. Unfortunately I have never seen manual transmission mustang in a rental fleet. I agree about the handling. In spite of what appears to be a fairly crude suspension layout Ford has done a remarkable job of making it work well. This v-6 is almost as quick and definitely better handling than the 91 5.0lx mustang I bought when I got out a college. The trunk is more useful too.