My first new car was a 1985 Honda CRX (hi cfg83!) and I agree, the gearbox was "like buttah" from day 1. Effortless intuitive clutch. It was my 2nd favorite.
My favorite was my '98 BMW M3, the E36 sedan version. The gears were a sensory delight! The clutch was a Mama Bear - not too firm, not at all mushy ... just right. It had this excellent feel to it, like the draw on a compound bow. (And it was mated to a great great engine.) It was just so easy for me to minimize differential acceleration aka "lurch" or "jerk". The effort was such that I never got bothered at a long light or when enjoying Gravity's Gift clutch-in on a miles-long downslope. My only wish in that car was for a 6th gear. Top gear at 60mph yielded a very unnecessary 2800rpm indicated.
The worst clutch I had belonged to a 1989 Acura Legend coupe. The thing was novocained! I had the WORST time finding the very narrow sweet spot between a lurch or a shuddering drag. I developed a "chameleon eyes" habit with that car when launching in first ... I actually watched the tach with one eye to see when the clutch would bite. The gearbox on that car was neither great nor awful.
larrybuck: I drove that car from Boston to the Bay Area!! The driver's window was a bad design ... frameless. It would lift from its gasket and whistle LOUDly at 70mph. Safety feature?
I test-drove a Lexus SC300 with the manual back in '93. I really wanted to like that car but it had a clutch that reminded me of the Acura's. No sale.
The Poop Wgn has a pretty sweet light clutch for a truck, but the gearshift is lloonngg in its throw and kinda notchy. The synchros are a little ratty into 2nd and 3rd. Sometimes I bobble a shift.
cheers apo