If you could choose one auto to be a manual....
Most the time, if given a choice, I would take a manual over an auto. A watch can never be too thin or light for me, so I'm happy to be without a rotor, and I also like the greater stillness a manual has. A couple of autos I've had have had thin casebacks, and the rotor has been very audible. I also simply enjoy being obliged to wind the watch each day: the auto winding brings me no benefit (I would change my tune if I had a screw-down crown, I know)
At the moment most watch companies are generally wary of producing manuals in any genre other than dressy, and so choice is limited if you're looking specifically at manuals. I end up daydreaming about watches that will never exist.
If I had the chance to turn one auto into a manual, it would probably be the entry level daily wearer style Grand Seiko, the SBGR053.
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...safvemgiy.jpeg
It's only 37mm in diameter, but thanks to the 9S auto movements being 6mm, it's 13mm thick.
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...srsa4hjec.jpeg
(I would also appreciate Junghans putting the 2801 into the 38mm Max Bill as well as the 34mm model)