In the world of automotive enthusiasts, few phrases carry more weight than "manual-only." It's treated like a badge of pride, like it's the mark of a true enthusiast's car.

But at what cost?

In past few years we've seen a handful of cars that were previously manual-only add an automatic or continuously variable transmission option: Cars like the Corvette Z06, Nissan 370Z Nismo, and the Fiat 500 Abarth. Ford has somehow turned itself into the king of the manuals, offering more than its fair share of manual-only performance models (and the manual-only Fiesta 1.0-liter Ecoboost). Including the Fords, there are just 13 cars in the USA today that offer a manual gearbox as the only transmission option.

This is partially due to the fact that Ford makes almost all of its money selling trucks and SUVs, so it's free to cater to enthusiasts without worrying about how profitable niche vehicles like the Focus RS are. Not all automakers are in that situation, though. In fact, most aren't.

When a company makes the decision to offer the option of something other than a manual transmission, Internet auto enthusiasts have a habit of freaking out. It's treated like a betrayal, but considering how few people can drive manuals these days, adding an automatic or CVT option widens the consumer appeal of these already-niche performance cars. It's not a betrayal; it's a business decision that makes sense.

Volkswagen

I love manual transmissions as much as the next enthusiast. I drive for personal enjoyment and have no intention of ever owning a performance car that doesn't have a clutch pedal. It's frustrating that some manufacturers aren't offering their performance cars with even the option of a manual transmission anymore, but it's equally frustrating listening to people complain that even offering a performance car with anything but a stick is ruining the car. If selling a car with the option of a dual-clutch or automatic means we continue to get great driver's cars, then how is that a bad thing? Not having those offerings only increase the chances a car could be discontinued.

Dodge

Take the Dodge Viper. It's an 8.4-liter, all-American badass that fellow R&T writer Jack Baruth calls "the last great American car." But despite being unabashedly awesome, sales of the current Viper have been slow. So far this year, Dodge has sold just barely over 500 of them, a far cry from the 2100 or so it sold in 2003.

A V10 ode to freedom and raw power was never going to sell in huge numbers, and Dodge originally priced the current Viper a little too high, but it would have had a better chance of being a sales success if Dodge had offered it with an automatic transmission.

You probably wouldn't buy a Viper with an auto, and in 20 years, when they're finally in my price range, I wouldn't buy a Viper with an auto. But that doesn't mean no one would buy a Viper with an auto. Chevrolet's decision to offer the new Corvette Z06 with an auto is proof that other automakers see the potential to increase sales by opening up their high performance models to a wider audience and to make sure they sell enough of them to make their development costs worth the investment.

Heck, the Mercedes-AMG GT doesn't even offer a manual transmission as an option and has a base MSRP 50 percentage points higher than the Viper's, but it doubled the Viper's September sales.

Could an automatic transmission have turned the Viper into a better seller? Maybe. Maybe not. But they would have definitely sold more of them, and a world where you're able to choose between a manual and an automatic Dodge Viper is better than a world with no Viper at all.

Some enthusiasts will insist on taking a stand based on principle, but it's time to be pragmatic. Automatic and dual-clutch transmissions offer faster acceleration, better fuel economy, and the opportunity to sell many more cars than would otherwise be possible. Manuals may be subjectively more enjoyable to drive, but at this point, they offer few objective advantages.

So instead of getting fussy every time a car that was previously manual-only gets an automatic option, it's time for people just to be glad it still has a manual option at all. And, if you're really an enthusiast, back that up by buying one as well.

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