He's apparently under the misconception that autos aren't worth fixing up.
Although a manual is, from experience, a bit funner to drive there is absolutely nothing wrong with fixing up an auto, down the road a ways you could even do an auto to manual swap if you want to, I believe there's a thread in the DIY section about how to do it.
Tell you're buddy to go fly a kite and do what you want to your car, when he asks you for ride you can just tell him "no, it's an auto".
I might want to stay away from anything gaudy like a big wing or bling rims but that's me, it your car so do as you like.