Manual transmissions almost never fail. Clutches do, but manual transmissions are pretty bombproof.
And have been for a while. My '06 Forester has it, and it’s one trim level up from the base model. My 2020 Civic has it.
These.
I had manual transmissions until 2014. I miss them.
Better mpg. And I used to love the look on the dealer’s face when he said “Yes, that’s the price we advertised…for a manual transmission.” And then I’d tell him to bring it on.
We had a '98 RAV4, and I thought it was fun in that car, too. Ugh. That car would have been no fun with an automatic.
Seems unlikely to me that using a clutch is the primary cause of your knee problem. I have always driven a stick until the last few years, so about the same amount of time as you before that, but my knee problem is due to an ACL injury over 30 years ago. I’m sure using a clutch had some minor contribution to all of the cartilage wearing away and the meniscus falling apart but it was gonna happen anyway. My right knee isn’t fine either, all that time it’s been carrying the extra load for my left knee has worn it out. Might need that replaced next year. Remember that part and keep your right knee in good shape while your left has problems.
Good friends of mine (they live in Tigard, I’m in SE PDX so howdy!) bought manuals for their daughters to learn to drive in because it required more concentration from them so’s not to be an embarrassing nuisance on the road and secondly so NONE of their friends would be able to drive their cars.
First daughter took after dad and was all over her '99 Subaru from git go and it stood her in excellent stead when she took a gap year after high school and travelled all over Europe working as a nanny for a German couple. They were used to Americans being unable to drive their cars but it was no problem for her. Her sister was a lot more timid and decided to stick with the giant Honda Pilot for a while, so her mom ended up driving the lttle Honda Fit dad bought for her. She’s gotten more proficient and does drive the manual but I think for her it was more wanting to feel safe in a giant tank.
I think he had the right of it, because no matter what those young ladies will be able to figure out how to drive anything at need or in an emergency. That’s a very cheap bit of peace of mind for everyone I’d say.
I learned to drive a manual early on, so that I could inherit my father’s aging Volvo (it seemed like a good idea at the time). After that the first cars I owned were crummy automatics (Chevy Vega and Dodge Omni), then much better manuals, then a couple of good automatics, and now a low end BMW (230i) which I got a good deal on because the dealership was anxious to unload a stick shift model which apparently no one wanted.
I find it fun to drive and shifting comes naturally. Mrs. J. is not enthusiastic but tolerant (the car we both found the most fun was a Mazda Miata (manual)).
The future at some point may hold a self-driving car with guaranteed impeccable safety, at which point I’d be too ancient to care how deadly dull it is.
Interesting analogy, considering the comeback vinyl has made in recent years. As someone whose mode of listening these days is entirely digital I don’t quite understand the vinyl surge, but if that’s what one likes, go for it. I certainly wouldn’t start a thread to ask how people could possibly make such a choice.
Yeah SF hills with a stick are a nitemare. I had one truck come up so close behind me that i just rolled slow back onto his bumper, then moved off.
Well what’s the fun in that?? 
I saw one just the other day. Pics here — An old Datsun — anyone know what this is? Is it a 210? A 510? And, what year? - Album on Imgur
Those cars are pretty small. It looked downright tiny when I was taking those pics. They had a 95” wheelbase. Hard to believe, but my first car was even smaller, with an 86” wheelbase. It was a Fiat X1/9.
Regardless of its (lack of) mainstream appeal in 2020 America, manual transmissions are still popular with enthusiasts and car culture is thriving. The internet was the best thing ever to happen to the car world, the classic car world, the performance car world, homemade tinkerer world, what have you. The scene is thriving in a way that was impossible 15 years ago.
Not with my kids. They’re in their 30s and drive sticks.
I dun raised ‘em right! 
Vinyl, hell, TAPE is making a giant comeback. Kids are going apeshit for tape. I played in a band last year that got a day of free studio time as a prize for winning a Battle of the Bands contest - and this was a pro level studio - everything was recorded on reel-to-reel tape. It sounded amazing. On the consumer level, cassette tapes are hotter than ever. A massive wave of 80s nostalgia and attendant musical genres capitalizing on it, has triggered a surge of interest in cassettes. And this is a whole new phenomenon separate from the punkers and Deadheads who had been using tapes for decades already.
The idea of rediscovering older technology will ALWAYS hold a strong appeal.
I’m a control freak. Stick is more fun and more controllable. Also (this was important for awhile) my teenagers could not sneak out at night and “borrow” my car until I taught them how to drive stick. Nobody is going to steal my car because car thieves don’t know how to drive a stick. (They would not want my beaters anyway, I’m pretty sure.)
Sigh. Well now I have a Prius. Occasionally I lose my mind and try to shift into a higher gear, which usually results in wiper fluid squirting on the windshield or me knocking over the water bottle in the console.
That is not the only downside. I had to put a Trump sticker on it so I could find it in the Whole Foods parking lot.
Manuals are sub-2% take rate in the overall market. Why? Because the vast majority of people drive because they have to in order to get their shit done, driving is a chore and a manual transmission is just an added hassle. Back in the day manuals used to be called “standard” transmission because that is what you got by default. But ever since the 2 speed Powerglide automatic was introduced, the take rate for manuals went down down down. This notion that more people would buy manuals if they just had the option is not supported by, well, 70 years of history.
At this point it’s just peacocking.
DH says “With an automatic, you’re not driving, you’re steering.”
I learned to drive on an automatic, but by the the time I was 22, I’s learned to drive a stick, and that’s all I’ve driven since, except for the little Chevy Spark I bought in 2016, because I could NOT find a new (ie, not used) car that was a manual. We also have manuals, though, and I still prefer driving them.
I don’t even really think about it. I got from A to B, and am not even really aware of shifting. On the other hand, in the Spark, I keep stomping on the non-clutch, and sometimes put it in park when I pull out onto the road.
I can’t argue with most of the rest of your post - though I maintain that the automotive enthusiast market is still very much interested in manuals, and this market has been thriving because of the 24-7 “car meet” that’s now possible through social media. I’m in Facebook groups where guys who race hand-built Edwardian speedsters at Goodwood or bring six-figure show cars to Pebble Beach interact with dudes who do nothing but tinker with $3000 Miatas in their backyard. While manuals have indeed dwindled from the mainstream, the car-enthusiast community has EXPLODED because of the internet. I know guys who were in diapers when 9/11 happened, who not only know what a clutch is, they know how to install one.
This is far more than peacocking.
Agreed about hilly and twisty bits. Automatics don’t give you the same engine braking. I have not been in a situation where I had to drive an automatic up or down a steep hill or on snow and ice, but in such cases I want to know which gear I am in and stay there.
Being used to a stick shift, I much prefer it. But for driving around town I would rather have an electric.Once they become affordable.
Knee damage from clutches? Unlikely. Most modern clutches are very light anyway, even the older ones did not require you to be a bodybuilder. My knees are showing signs of age, too, but I put it down to mountaineering and long downhill descents. Knee damage is frequently due to a sports injury or some mishap.
I drive a Jeep Wrangler JK with a 6 speed manual. It is just fun to drive.