I've never had that problem with my clutch.
I can agree that the shifter is maybe not the nicest I've ever seen/felt, but it doesn't detract enough from the driving experience to bother me.
As for the color and options, I suggest you hold out for what you want or search your surrounding area using maybe cars.com to find what you're looking for. It's out there if you look hard enough. There are base Z's with sport, and hopefully in one of the colors you like. Never let a salesman place you in a car. Do your research, figure out what you want, and stick to your guns. It's your money, and your time investment. You gotta look at the thing in your driveway (let alone drive it) for the next X years. The salesman doesn't.
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