The automatic transmission on the 6thG Accords isn't that bad. I've beat the fuck out of mine to hell and back, and while yes -- it has been slipping for almost 30,000 miles, it hasn't failed yet. And I STILL beat the hell out of it.

I'll hit redline a few times everyday, and maybe once a week or so I find the room to stretch it out to 120-130MPH (shhhhh!!)

I've learned to "choose" my shift points in my car, i.e. I can make my car shift anywhere after 2200RPM. If I want to shift into 3rd at 2,500 I can make it. If I want it to shift at 4K, I know how.

Edit: Is the reason automatics hold value better because they cost more in the beginning? The only car in recent memory I can think of that had an manual transmission that wasn't cheaper than the automatic version was the 7thG AV6. They're listed at the same price, but the manual is so much more of a better buy.