My girlfriend and I have been by the local Honda/Acura store several times and noticed that they never had a 6 speed TSX. Everytime there were only automatics. Holy smokes I thought this was supposed to be a drivers car and yet automatics everywhere. Stopped at Acura/Infiniti in Greenville SC and there were 7 TSX with autos and only one 6 speed . We also looked at the Infiniti G35 coupe and not one out of 8 cars they had were manuals .
Bright Blues are my favorite car color and my HX Civic and S were not available in those colors
I feel like everything I like is becoming an endangered species
I do not like 4 door cars(TSX for her not me),automatics,or extended or double cab trucks(Regular cabs look so much better).
It seems that automakers want to appeal to the broadest range of people yet leave out the folks that would have wanted the car in the first place . Prime example is the new 4 door Charger WTF?
So are my preferences going to become extinct like the dinosaur?

 

All the above cars you listed in your post are not really drivers cars. They are coupes or sedans designed for regular people who drive from point A to B. Few people buying those cars actual want a manual and the car companies know it.

the real drivers cars such as the elise, s2000, etc are purchased more by performance drivers and are offered only in a manual transmission and minimal luxury options.

A good compromise is the SMG transmission in the M3, but obviously more costly.

 

Because Auto Trans sell 90% of the time for a certain vehicle compared to Manuals.

 

Well while we are at it , any dullard with a minimum of coordination can drive a car with a modern gearbox. All you have to do is get reasonably close to the gears and it will go in with today's syncromesh boxes (of course reading all the posts about said dullards missing shifts may shoot my theory down the crapper).

Wanna be a "driver" drive a car with a non syncro box. Heel and toe a Hewland box well and your a driver , but trying to distance yourself from auto tranny gearbox drivers when you "drive" a syncro is pure BS.

 

Welcome to America. A/T sells, no question. I drove a 6 speed TSX in April. Very nice car. I bought the RSX S, though. Much more fun!

 

we should just be content that companies like acura, infiniti, audi, bmw, etc. still offer their cars with manual transmissions despite the reality that the demand for these trannies by consumers from these companies are rare. we see more TSXs in auto because that's what the majority wants. go to a bmw dealership and it's the same; most of the cars will be auto. these car companies are not trying to make their "driver's cars" less of a "driver's car". it's just business. you produce whatever the market demands. most drivers do not speed through on/off ramps like we do, or turn backroads into their own personal race tracks, like some of us do. and believe it or not, that's actually a good thing...

 

Heck a lot of salesmen don't want to sell you MT cars. I bought a Maxima with MT and the guy said I should get a AT b/c it's hard to sell MTs, no one wants them so I would not get a good re-sale. I was like I want one you retard how about you worry about what I want for a change instead of what's hard to sell.

Same thing when I was looking for an M3 w/o a sun-roof. The salesman said I should get a sun-roof b/c no one want's to buy a car with out one.

I really hate sun-roofs and a lot of cars you can't get without one or else it's very hard to get one with any options b/c the sun-roof is part of an option package.

Also (I think) cars like the TSX and RX-8 are a lot better with a MY b/c they aren't very TQ-ey. A car like a 300C or Mustang for example may be fine with a AT.

 

I like the Steptronic trans in our 325 wagon. In manual mode, it lets you take the engine right up to redline.

Other times, I'm content to just let the transmission do the shifting. Here in the DC-area, we're in bumper-to-bumper traffic a lot of the time, when working a clutch just isn't much fun.

I know, I'm getting old!

 

Unless a car is somewhat sporty, it really doesn't make sense to get a MT. What's the point?

That said, I actually like driving a MT in traffic jams. It gives me something to do.

 

sometimes I think the only reason that manuals still exist are because drivers in europe and japan want them so they can save some gas!

If the US was the world's only market, MT cars probably would not exist.

I actually appreciate the fact that companies like Honda don't pander to the masses with their top of the line cars like the ITR, S, GSR, Si, etc. Well, there is the NSX...

Many people have the perception that a car they pay $$$ for should have automatic windows, locks, etc...trannys included. You hear people say that "my (insert crappy car here) has the steering wheel shifters just like a race car!"