Yeah, I can't argue, starbucks and cell phones.. But there is also another even bigger culprit. BMW.
If you haven't noticed, BMW lags on sending the manual transmissions to the USA. Usually they come in over a year or more, after the SMG, Steptronic editions are released.
So what does this mean? That any hardcore BMW fan that might want a manual but might not want to wait for it, because a new car has come out, like the M5, M6, M3, 5 series, 3 series, etc. is somewhat forced to take the SMG, Step equivalent if they want the "new car", "first on the block" which a lot of BMW owners want to be. After all, who's cooler, the guy who gets the first M5 off the boat, or the guy that gets his 18 months later?
We live in the "have to have it now" society. No one wants to wait.
So the hardcore guys buy the SMG, with the plan of maybe buying the manual version when it arrives 18 months later. But then after 16 months, that buyer decides he is tired of the M5 and wants a Cayenne or something. Or he is upside down on the cost of the car and it doesn't pay to trade it or sell it.
So now the hardcore enthusiast, never really gets to own the car he wanted, the NEW model with the manual H box transmission, in a timely fashion.
-- Now the H box cars start to trickle into the states but the sales are lack luster. The car is certainley not as hot as it was in 2005 when it was on the cover of every magazine and dealers were asking for a $10k to $20k premium.
So here and there, BMW sells a couple manuals, but not truckloads of them.
BMW Marketing says, "see, no one really wanted a manual, they all wanted the SMGII, which we make more money on as it's a $5K option." and fewer and fewer manuals are made.
I would almost certainley guarantee that if BMW were to send manual transmissions to the states during the first batch of cars, there would be many, many more buyers. And those cars would trickle down to the secondary market.
But as long as BMW withholds the manuals until the cars are yesterday's news, there will not be a long list of people buying them. Those true enthusiasts have already moved on to buying a manual 911 or something of that nature.
B
p.s. - Even though I know it will NEVER happen. I am still hoping that when BMW comes out with the new "special edition X5 (4.6is, 4.8is) that they might offer a six speed manual. I would buy one in a NY minute. But I also hoped they were going to make it an ///M class X5 and there not doing that either
