Was given the 8880 Super Car as a kid. Pretty sure it's the only reason I survived a vacation on an island having, unexpectedly, no automatic transmission cars.
Apparently manual gearboxes are rare in the states and beholden to “sporty” cars. “Driving stick” is a specialty. In Europe it is the other way around and automatics were rare. Now with hybrid and electric cars automatic transmissions are becoming more popular.