Welcome from one military member to another. As for the Autostick, this is the first automatic I've ever owned, and I've owned many cars in my life. The SRT6 is so good, that I didn't care what type of tranny it had. The transmission is made by McLaren, and is well known to be one of the best manumatics around. Not sure about the current models, but previously all AMG cars only came with the Autostick. It is very intelligent and will hold a gear almost exactly like a manual when you use manual mode. It really is brilliant. I really don't miss the manual, especially when I'm putting around in traffic. I would much rather have the SRT with the Autostick than a regular Xfire with a standard.

As for other questions, use the search feature. You can find just about anything you could possibly be wondering. For wheels and tires, there is an entire section devoted to that subject. I've been spending a ton of time there lately!