As someone who only knows how to drive an automatic (never had access to a manual to learn), some of the problems he's describing sound like he hasn't made the

As someone who only knows how to drive an automatic (never had access to a manual to learn), some of the problems he's describing sound like he hasn't made the necessary adjustments in driving style that an automatic apparently requires (at least for the acceleration--I'm willing to concede that he has a point for the engine braking). This gets a bit into "intelligent" user interfaces, but I feel like I have a pretty good model of how the automatic gearbox responds to increased foot pressure, so I don't have any problem getting up to speed when changing lanes.