Cheap fuel, thats what its all about. How do you make a faster car on the cheap, put in a bigger engine. If it consumes more fuel so what, it costs so little anyway. The US seems more concerned with emissions than economy so mpg ain’t that important. With a bigger engine you don’t need to worry about ripping through the gears so much and if the roads are big wide and flat then you’re sorted. Its the opposite in the UK. Petrol is relatively expensive so you need a smaller engine. To get more performance out of a smaller engine you need to be able to push it through the rev range more. If your road network contains more hills and curves than you’ll again need to exploit the rev range more. My grandfather was always impressed by an imported American car in that was able to haul itself up a large hill without the need to change gear when all other European cars were left wheezing all the way up.
I’m sure that there are rush hours, traffic jams, and all manner of traffic congestion problems in Europe just as much in the United States. To me all the supposed advantages and pleasures of manual shifts don’t come near to matching the disadvantage of having to mess with the shift and clutch in a jam (worse even when going uphill). It seems simply masochistic to me to even be willing to put up with that, if you have a choice. Besides, automatic transmissions have been around for decades now; I’m fairly confident that manufacturing and technology are good enough to flatten out a large proportion of the economies involved.
Recommended auto trans fluid drain, filter change…I’d recommend either once a year or every 12,000 miles. I’ve seen it range from $90 to $130 ( includes fluids, filter and gasket kit, and labor…possibly an additive).
Manual trans? Drain and refill…maybe once a year? Maybe once every three years? 
I’ve seen people who’ve never done it.
I prefer and do drive manual. It’s more fun. (Yes, even in traffic…doesn’t bother me…although I think I am in the minority here). My WAG is that most Americans want more convenience (read:lazy) so the automatic transmission is more prevalent.
Then how would you regard those of us that are poor at driving a CAR with a manual but can shift on a motorcycle just fine? I think the bike is more difficult to deal with then a car, but have virtually no chance at finding a car to practice ‘stick’ in, while almost all bikes are manual shift.
wmulax: Well I myself find that with the exception the reverce (up for down/down for up) gearing on racing vs touring bikes that a motorcycle is far easier to change gears with for most uses. Everything is along a vertical axis, there is no need to “hunt” for your gears and your biggest possible mistake is going to be skipping upwards and stalling out. Certainly there is an immidiate intimidation factor for many first time or new riders but much of that has to do with the fact that many riders, myself included, tend to overstate how much skill it takes to operate on two wheels. Also many people buy big and regret it (a novice has no business on a Valkyre or a CBR-600R).
I didn’t begin to drive cars until I was almost 19 and have owned motorcycles since age 16 (earlier if you count dirt bikes) and I regard it as imperative that someone who is liscenced to operate a vehicle be proffecient in it’s operation and safety. If you had a liscence for motorcycles exclusively and this liscence allowed you to operate a jockey shift or a classic Indian as well as standard shifting bikes then you should be able to operate all of them safely. Now obviously you are going to be best at whatever you use most often just due to practice, but there should be a minimum expected aptitude if you are legal to operate a vehicle.
As someone who has been run over on a motorcycle and t-boned in a car and only once been cited for a driving infraction in 15 years of driving (the infraction was expired tags, BTW) I think I’m fairly justified in saying that there are too many unskilled drivers on the road and I see no negative effect of making the testing of drivers more complex and having greater penalities for those who operate vehicles in an illegal or dangerous manner suffer greater and more immidiate penalties. Also having lived in Florida in a largely senior community I am very aware of the dangers elderly drivers pose and am frustrated at the lobby power of many senior political groups that block attempts to mandate retesting for senior citizens. I do find it heartening that my own current home state has made some headway into restricting the driving privilidge of minors (the t-bone incident was 8, yes eight, teens in a 90’ Civic who blew a red light because they were trying to find a CD on the floor of the car. The driver himself had his head impact the stearing wheel on the crown because he was looking between his legs for the CD.).
So frankly and in summation: If you can’t safely operate it then you obviously shouldn’t drive it and you certainly shouldn’t be liscenced to operate it either. The reason I say “handicapped” is that in at least my state of residence and every other state I have lived in you can take a driver’s test in an automatic and if you pass you are legal to operate a manual which you demonstrated no ability to use. I think that anyone who for reasons other than physical impairment really can’t (with practice) grasp a manual transmission has some problem that makes them unlikely to be much good at general driving aptitude. Maybe it’s concentration, or a calm demeanor, or foresight, I’m not sure why someone just could not become good at using a stick but I wouldn’t trust my life in any vehicle to such a person.
Radio controls are now generally on the steering column so you can change volume and station without having to look down.
Windows are electric, so a switch on the door panel can open / close without having to take your eyes off the road.
It’s all about making the driver keep attention on the road ahead. It only takes a second of lapsed concentration to cause a crash.
Mum said it’s better to tow with a manual rather than automatic. (Can’t cite) - Perhaps more people tow over in europe (caravans etc) and this has accounted for a percentage.
Aro, wouldn’t looking at it change the outcome?
I believe that used to be the case. However they have managed to overcome the shortcomings of automatic transmissions in this area by offerting a towing package on most vehicles that you would consider towing something heavy with. I think it basically consists of a transmission cooler (and maybe an oil cooler). It probably changes shift logic as well. I’d be willing to bet you’d want a heavier transmission as well, even on a manual shift, but I think they tend to be more forgiving in that area.