said by booj:The cheaper end of the car spectrum will include manuals for many decades to come. That's how I see it.
Fuel efficient automatic transmissions cost about 2k. This cost may not be that relevant when buying a Mercedes, but when buying a sub 20k car it sure is.
considering a vast number of car buyers are financing their purchase, and that most automatics add about $1200 to the price of the car (not sure where your $2k figure comes from), that only amounts to about $15-$20/month on your payment...i doubt it would be a deal breaker...as well, it is possible that if the only transmission that was purchased and installed was the same automatic transmission, it would also enable the auto company to get better pricing and more efficient assembly which will help keep costs lower as well.