[quote=DesertFox]I was trying to find this info, too, but I haven't come across a clear source. What I do know is that mileage dropped to 15/23 for the 2008 xFire manual, and you don't just lose MPG for no reason......[/quote

The EPA revised their mpg testing to more accurately reflect how cars are actually driven. All cars had their ratings dropped.

Hairydalek, I'm guessing that you've gotten your impression of the US having an automatic dominated society because of Hollywood. This is misleading because I'd think that movies/TV shows etc. would use auto cars for ease of filming. If you'd watch older stuff from 10 - 15 years ago you would see that none of the movie or TV characters would put on seatbelts. It would have been easy to conclude that Americans didn't wear seatbelts. Now characters wear seatbelts, and don't smoke anymore in their cars. Unfortunately they now give the impression that Americans always leave their keys in the ignition since these characters never actually dig around for their keys prior to starting their cars.

I think another factor in the popularity of automatic transmissions here in the US is that an auto tranny is considered upscale and is a desired feature to have. When I was learning to drive going on 35 years ago, cheaper, stripped down model cars were offered with, and frequently bought with a manual transmission. This wasn't for driving pleasure or fuel economy, but simply to keep the cost of the car as low as possible since manual transmissions were less expensive. So now what happens when an owner of such a budget car is finally able to afford something better? Think another car with manual steering, manual brakes, and manual transmission is still appealing? Or do you think our intrepid new car buyer is going to treat him or herself with power steering, power brakes, and yes, an automatic transmission?

The predominance of automatic transmissions here (read that only 10% of all cars sold here have manual trannys) have led to an interesting development. Many car today that are equivalent to the stripped down models of yesteryear are not offered with a manual transmission or are not bought with one. However, many higher end cars are offered with a manual and are bought with such. Maybe we are reversing our preferences and one day a manual will be considered the upscale transmission.