Feeling a bit slow here, but...

Just realized the OP is trying to justify her Eclipse as a sports car, likely under the guise of "Girl Power" that girls like to assert when they do something "manly," such as watching football, installing software, or in this case, changing gears.

No, no way in hell your Eclipse is a sports car. Manual gearbox and a hatchback describes about 75% of Europe's cars, and yes, your stance is a bit ignorant with this in mind. In America, where automatics are most common, a manual seems "sporty," when in reality, the manual transmission is - by name, no less - the standard, and an automatic is a luxury that (stereotypically lazy) Americans have taken for granted. Manuals bring less complexity to the table, as well as higher mechanical efficiency. This results in cheaper initial and maintenance costs, as well as better gas mileage, how sporty is that?

As for the hatchback: guess what, it makes it easier to load groceries.

Guess what? My Toyota Corolla is a 5spd hatchback. Do you want to tell me that the best-selling car of all time, and the definitive economy car, is a sports car? Do you want to tell me that I have 70HP because the car that I bought from an old man that had trouble walking was meant to perform?