That said, this is also a clear shift in consumer demand too - a 1970s $3500 car is going to be a sedan, small, and pretty featureless. Compare that to a $20k Corolla today - which is the same proportion of median income that the $3500 car was in the 70s. It's larger, more reliable, safer, and has a whole bunch more features.
They have to because services are distributed and it's super expensive and disruptive to sell an owned-residence.
In my experience, it's clearly true overall. In the 1970s, say, you're probably looking at a car in the snow belt lasting 5 years because of rust and 100,000 miles was generally considered very high mileage.
This also came with a caveat as automatic is more expensive to manufacture and repair.
What is the pro of manual transmission? I used to have those cars in the EU and thought it was just an annoying extra thing I have to pay attention to when driving.
1. enjoyment
2. keeps you awake
3. more reliable
4. more control in stuck or slippery conditions
5. thieves don't know how to drive them
6. the kids are terrified of it and won't ask to borrow it
7. can push start the car
8. can restart the car while moving if the engine stalls
9. can coast
10. can drop the clutch and get off the line faster when drag racing against some teen at the traffic light
11. get to enjoy double clutching and mastering heel-toeing and pretending you're an F1 driver
12. The Cat cannot reach the clutch pedal, frustrating its plans for putting me in the trunk and depositing me in the Kat Fud Factory
13. you can nurse the car home and to the shop with a broken gearbox. With an automatic, it's a tow truck every time
14. the sheer joy of a winding mountain road, a powerful V8, picking the gear for the next turn, managing the traction and engine speed, etc.