[dsfyu404ed]

>They're cheaper

Not substantially.

>they're more efficient

Not any more.

>they make the most of small engines with limited torque.

Ding. Ding. Ding. We have a winner!

People like manuals because they can choose when to up-shift whereas the guys programming the automatic transmission will program it to up-shift as soon as they think they can get away with (for fuel economy and emissions). With a manual you can let your 1L hornets nest scream along at 4k all the time giving you close to peak power on tap whenever you want it. Basically manuals are a hack around regulations that force manufactures to build cars with performance characteristics nobody wants (under-powered engines and transmissions that up-shift at the drop of a hat). Those regulations are much stronger in Europe so the value proposition of a manual transmission is better there.

[ric2b]

Most of the time I drive economically and up-shift very early. Sometimes I want to have some fun and fly out of corners at 4 or 5K on my small 1200cc car.

Can't do that with most automatics.

[jfengel]

force manufactures to build cars with performance characteristics nobody wants

Well... performance characteristics that everybody wants -- for everybody else. They themselves want warp drive, but prefer everybody else help hold down the price of gasoline and the carbon content of the atmosphere.