Those are some good facts.
I'd still take a manual pulling any kind of a load over an auto anyday of the week. What manuals may lack in strength, they make up for in better control (IE being in the right gear and not guessing back and forth like an auto will).
I even drive my auto like a manual. Manually shift into 2nd, then D w/ OD off, then switch OD on. If I'd let it my auto would run in OD w/ TC locked at 40 mph, that drives me crazy and is not good for it either.
I find it funny that guys with manuals often wish they had autos and guys with autos wish they had manuals.
Nathan