Coming from a farm, I've driven both manual and automatic transmission cars, trucks, tractors, heavy machinery, semi-trucks, etc.
At some point the type of transmission used is only one part of the car that is going to affect its performance. I have not done anything in an automatic that I cannot do in a manual transmission car. Sure, my automatic pickup will accelerate faster than the manual one I had before it. But that is more due to the engine horsepower to vehicle weight ratio than the transmission. (2013 f150 w/ 350 hp vs 2004 f350 with 250 hp)
My guess is the reason that it is becoming harder to buy new manual transmission vehicles is declining demand and the cost associated with extra development to create two versions of the same car.
At some point the type of transmission used is only one part of the car that is going to affect its performance. I have not done anything in an automatic that I cannot do in a manual transmission car. Sure, my automatic pickup will accelerate faster than the manual one I had before it. But that is more due to the engine horsepower to vehicle weight ratio than the transmission. (2013 f150 w/ 350 hp vs 2004 f350 with 250 hp)
My guess is the reason that it is becoming harder to buy new manual transmission vehicles is declining demand and the cost associated with extra development to create two versions of the same car.