I was wondering how to remove the plastic piece around the shifter on an automatic. Is it screwed in or just a snap in piece.

 

You have to remove the back of the console.

Once that is out of the way, you're able to reach the parking brake bolts. First pull up the parking brake. Then remove the front two hex bolts from the parking brake and loosen the back two (do not remove them totally).

Once this is done, you can unsnap the black piece and pull it upwards to remove it.

Oh and don't forget to remove both shift knobs before starting.