My son is 30 and when he bought his GTO he searched for a manual. Being exposed to the car culture of 30yr olds I have found that group prefers stick shifts. So yes, young people do know how to drive them.
Myself, I spent more than my share of seat time rowing through the gears in a dump truck. I have no desire to have a manual as a daily driver. I prefer the set it and forget it method! My 77 trans am is automatic and I am perfectly happy with that. The 79 I am working is a 4 speed and ironically the only reason I took that project on was because it was a 4 speed. But only because a manual version is more valuable than the auto counterpart.
I will ad, like John I want my vehicle to be max on the comfort scale. For many years all I could afford was a stripped down vehicle. Today I am not ashamed at all to have power everything and a nice cold A/C.