The whole world (including the US) is buying less and less manual transmissions in recent years. Thankfully, enthusiasts here and across the pond are doing their best to keep it available as an option, and the take-rate has leveled off, and even come up a bit.
"In 1987, 29.1% of new vehicles sold in the U.S. were manual transmission, according to the EPA. By 2010, however,
the rate had fallen to just 3.8%.
It appears as though something of a stick-shift renaissance has since occurred, with 5.1% of new cars being manual last year. And a new report from Edmunds.com indicates that stick shifts are on pace to account for roughly 7% of cars sold in 2012."
http://business.time.com/2012/08/02/...e-stick-shift/
"The vehicle with the highest percentage of manual sales so far this year is the brand new Subaru BRZ. Seventy percent of BRZs sold are equipped with a manual transmission.
“The manuals are running very high,” Subaru product communications boss, Dominick Infante said.
That is a skewed number since the BRZ just came out, and most of the buyers are early adopters. “We think that over time that number will change a bit,” said Infante.
The mechanical twin of the BRZ is enjoying a lesser take-rate, likely due to the increased number of cars moved. To-date, 52-percent of Scion FR-S models are sold with a manual transmission. While the manual transmission is the most engaging option on the FR-S, the automatic certainly isn’t a boring slushbox. Also, both the automatic FR-S and the BRZ get better fuel-economy ratings than their manual transmission counterparts.
According to the numbers, these are just about the only vehicles that enjoy a manual transmission take-rate above 50 percent – with much of the reason likely due to early-adopter enthusiast-types.
The Ford Mustang, both the V6 and GT, have a 50-50 split right down the middle between automatics and manuals, as does the Volkswagen GTI, which is available with a quick-shifting dual-clutch automatic."
"Instead of just relying on the German automaker’s impressive PDK dual-clutch automated gearbox, they also developed a manual transmission that boasts the best of the fuel-saving PDK, and the engagement that the enthusiast craves.
“We still have a fair percentage of customers who prefer a manual transmission,” Twork said. “In the 911, this is between 30-40 percent depending on where the car is in its lifecycle.”"
http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2...on-doomed.html
As long as there are enough people who want to drive them, and are willing to buy them, they'll be around for us.
But the kids are our future, right? As old gearheads die off, who's going to take their place? Sometimes I wonder what percentage of kids are actually learning to drive a manual these days.
Moral of the story: if you like driving a manual, keep buying them, and teach your kids to drive one!