Endangered: The decline of manual transmissions

It wasn't so long ago an automatic transmission was considered upmarket. While an automatic is taken for granted by most people buying a new car today, the option to buy a new car with a manual transmission is becoming more difficult as manufacturers quietly phase-out the gearbox. In figures provided to CarAdvice, the past five years of sales data shows the Toyota Corolla – Australia's best-selling small car – has seen a marked decline in the demand for manual transmissions by consumers.