
In many of our cities, there are traffic signals every 100 feet (unsynchronised,
of course (well here in Ottawa anyway)) and the roads are so congested that 
shifting manually is a real pain in the left foot.  Also, most Canadians are
too stupid to learn how to shift manually (gee, I gotta co-ordinate my two
feet on the clutch, brake _and_ accelerator, and I gotta steer, shift _and_
operate the signals (optional) and radio with my two hands... duh... it 
can't be done).  Also, most North American made cars come with the automatic 
as standard equipment, so why bother with a manual when the car can shift 
for you for no addition money.

