With the amount of cars out here, over 50% being automatic still means that there are many car with manuals.
There are quite a few manual-transmission-only drivers out here. One of my brothers, for instance. At a Mopar site I visit, well over one-half of those replying to the question "Manual or Automatic trans" picked manual.And the traffic jam is the excuse americans usually mention for not having manuals. As if we didn't have them
Traffic jams aren't really an "excuse," automatics just happen to be more practical for many people.