Originally Posted By: Y_K
Just realised that it's getting close to impossible to buy a new car with a manual transmission. Althought, there are good news:
Porsche Retains Manual Transmission
Hard, but still not impossible. Challenger, Camaro, Mustang, and (as mentioned) Porsche, BMW, etc. are all still available with traditional manuals. Sequential-shift and dual-clutch manumantics are just another flavor of automatic, though, and my bet its that Porsche will soon ditch the traditional stick to go with only DCTs (given that they're part of VW/Audi which is really on that bandwagon).
The cost of certifying a chassis and drivetrain with a manual for emissions standards doesn't justify the return for most ordinary 4-door cars anymore. Not enough sell to recover the cost. For example, you know the engineering cost for putting a 6-speed manual in, say, the Charger would be very low since the car is essentially identical to the Challenger. But it has to have its own emissions certification, and I have NO doubt that that is the roadblock.
Last I checked only one full-size pickup (Ram) was still available with a manual, and then only in a limited number of configurations.