From the late 1980s on, when automatic transmissions became more prevalent in the US, most people chose the easy road when getting behind the wheel. All of this put together means that most Americans, other than pure car enthusiasts, will choose an automatic car.

When did the automatic transmission become standard?

By the middle of the 1950s, the automatic transmission was ascendant in the North American market, and would continue to grow in popularity right through to the modern day.

When did automatics become better than manuals?

In the United States, automatics have sold better than manual transmissions since at least the 1970s, and by 2007 automatics outsold manuals for the first time worldwide. While manual transmissions have become a bit better over the years, automatics have become much, much better.