Automatic, why choose this struggle?

If you can't think of a situation where they will help you, they are not for you. Simple. If you don't get cold, you don't look for a jacket.

Autos suck big time............in my opinion, for those exact reasons you gave. They are new, being forced advertised as something "special" and everyone falls for it. They do not offer anything that can not already be achieved with normal photperiod plants..........except a higher electricity bill! 12 weeks at 18/6 is a big difference to 4 weeks at 18/6 and 8 weeks at 12/12!

some people just grow for fun some for medical reasons others for profit not everyone goes for max yields why not let the plant the freedom to decide when she is ready for flower ? particularly outdoot it can be very usefull, if its not depending on hours of light i would not say veg is longer, like photos it depends on the strain and conditions/enviroment but some genetics just need more time then others to get mature