The biggest deterrent: Girlfriends and/or wives. They don't know how to operate one, and they have zero interest in learning how. Now you have all sorts of logistical problems.

I love manual transmissions. I love the feeling of using all four limbs to control the vehicle. But that's because I love driving. A manual transmission keeps me mroe involved with the act of driving, and it's part of what turns driving from a passive into an active activity for me. And no, I don't drive a sports car (2012 Outback, the last manual in Canada was sold in 2018 here).

There is no conceivable scenario today in which a modern automatic transmission will be outperformed by a manual. Automatics are faster, more fuel efficient (have been for at least ten years now), and even cheaper now, and that one was a long time coming. Their reliability and dependability is at least on par now, and that too took a long time to achieve. There's just no reason to make manuals anymore, aside from a select few enthusiast cars (case in point the Mustang; the Miata is another example).

But the real reasons? It's twofold:

1: Fuel efficiency targets. Car manufacturers need to meet efficiency targets based on the entire fleet, and automatics are more efficient. They help bring the entire lineup's fuel mileage up.

2: Safety features and self driving. Lane assist (for the most part), traffic jam assist, and park assist are all highly requested features that come to mind that simply cannot be offered with a manual transmission. Self drive is right out. Even emergency braking would be considerably tougher with a manual.

But more than that, because they're more cost effective nowadays, almost nobody, outside of a very few people like myself who take pleasure in their daily drive, actually wants a manual any longer.

I love manual transmissions. I love the feeling of using all four limbs to control the vehicle. But that's because I love driving. A manual transmission keeps me mroe involved with the act of driving, and it's part of what turns driving from a passive into an active activity for me. And no, I don't drive a sports car (2012 Outback, the last manual in Canada was sold in 2018 here).

There is no conceivable scenario today in which a modern automatic transmission will be outperformed by a manual. Automatics are faster, more fuel efficient (have been for at least ten years now), and even cheaper now, and that one was a long time coming. Their reliability and dependability is at least on par now, and that too took a long time to achieve. There's just no reason to make manuals anymore, aside from a select few enthusiast cars (case in point the Mustang; the Miata is another example).

But the real reasons? It's twofold:

1: Fuel efficiency targets. Car manufacturers need to meet efficiency targets based on the entire fleet, and automatics are more efficient. They help bring the entire lineup's fuel mileage up.

2: Safety features and self driving. Lane assist (for the most part), traffic jam assist, and park assist are all highly requested features that come to mind that simply cannot be offered with a manual transmission. Self drive is right out. Even emergency braking would be considerably tougher with a manual.

But more than that, because they're more cost effective nowadays, almost nobody, outside of a very few people like myself who take pleasure in their daily drive, actually wants a manual any longer.