Here's a rather interesting fact about BMW (if you actually care about cars). Whereas in the US you can only get a paddle-shifting sequential manual gearbox (SMG) on the M3, in Germany you can already get an SMG transmission on any of their 325i/ci/iC, 330i/ci/iC, and Z4 2.5i/3.0i. In fact, an SMG costs less than their Steptronic automatic transmission on any of these cars, which is kind of interesting (around 300-600 euro cheaper than the automatic which is about a 2000 euro option). In other words, look for US-spec BMWs to start carrying SMGs as an option in the next year or two.

The SMG system allows three ways to drive: like a normal manual, F1-style paddle-shifting that does not require the use of the clutch, or a Cruising mode that is equivalent to an automatic. Here's a video in German about it: SMG system