Look, Michael, I'm sorry for not searching for the reason myself from the start, but when I did earlier the only comments were standardization (commonality for the older 737 variants), hands-on approach, Southwest is a little more old school, and a few others. There really weren't comments on the efficiency at all, unless they were questions similar to my own.If you still don't believe me, how about this post in Southwest's own blog:

Southwest Airlines recently hit a milestone in our quest to fly more efficiently and greener by successfully implementing autothrottles and VNAV (vertical navigation) modifications to our entire 737-700 fleet. Now, if you don’t understand what that sentence means--don’t worry, you aren’t alone. The important message is that this milestone will help save the Company millions of dollars in fuel burn, while at the same time significantly reducing our carbon emissions. In fact, since the modifications began, we have seen very tangible benefits.You may be wondering how the modifications help us save so much “green.” Simply stated…the modifications allow our Pilots to fly at a nearly perfect speed when at cruise altitude and gives them an enhanced level of precision during climbs and descents. Our Maintenance group has been working alongside our Flight Operations Department on the project for more than two years to make this happen--we are very proud of their tireless work. And, this is merely the tip of the iceberg. Soon, our nearly 6,000 Pilots will receive additional training as we prepare to begin GPS (Global Positioning Satellite) navigation. This will be followed by RNAV (area navigation), and ultimately RNP (Required Navigation Performance) procedures. As the automation evolution continues, the best is yet to come!

(Emphasis mine)My initial point was to just put the point across that automation has its time and place, and if it's available, I'll use it to free up my own resources to take care of other tasks. Ignoring it entirely for the sake that it's not in the plane you fly in the real world, while somewhat valid (as I pointed out in the initial post), just doesn't make sense to me (again, as stated before: my opinion). My other point was just to say that, as far as bad habits from a simulator go, there are worse things than getting used to automation. I use AT all the time in the sim, and have no problem flying the J-41 in the sim either. In the real world, to me, a Cessna is a completely different thing and I have no issue with the lack of AT or desire to use it (as far as I'm concerned, that goes from 152 to 207). The thought doesn't even cross my mind.Again, I understand your point, and I'm sorry if you thought I was criticizing you, but all I was doing was providing a counterpoint. I even made fun of my own opinions in my first post. The jabs really aren't necessary.

All I can say is, I'm bloody glad my company doesn't have this stupid policy of not using the autothrottle...MANAGED letting the computer do it all the way!! Why on earth would I want to sit there flying the night DME *shudders* with myself constantly messing with those to levers?!?! It's what the computers are for