I meant to mention something about that..
I have an automatic, never drove a manual, so I don't have an opinion on that
Hollywood is right that the gearing on the automatics is lagging compared to other cars in the simmilar price range.
I had a '00 Hyundai Tiburon prior to getting the Mustang, and that thing was geared GREAT, had good handling as well. it was a 4 cylinder, but I believe it's top speed was still faster than the Mustang (which has a limiter thing). That's about the only real comparison I have, but I would tthink the manual transmission mustang for the price is not too bad of a deal.
and for fucks sake, DON'T GET A YELLOW MUSTANG