Good luck with the new hybrid! There is a TON of information here if you take the time to look for it, and there are almost always quick answers from the community if you have questions for us. I know the 05 Civic Hybrid had a manual version, but apparently not the 06, so I'm glad your wife loved the car anyway.

Instead of thinking about shifting, she can start thinking about hypermiling. Keeping half an eye on that mpg gauge keeps driving interesting enough to occupy me- I wouldn't have enough hands and feet to worry about shifting, too (though I know that some people do it- they're very talented). If she has the attention span to drive a stick, I'm sure she'll turn out to be fantastic at driving a hybrid for high mpg. I wonder if there's any connection between hypermilers and experience with a stick? I wouldn't be surprised.