Bingo.
The numbers don't lie. Many people think that manufacturers are just trying to stick it to the manual die-hards, but the truth is, when offered in their vehicles, fewer and fewer are being spec'd that way. Why? Well, various reasons. But among them:
- New generations don't have the same love affair (in large part, not everyone of course) with manuals. Many, even car enthusiasts, don't even know how to drive a manual.
- Many people just want the "fastest" when buying a sports/supercar. If the acceleration numbers for the manual are less appealing, the arm-chair racers often go for the one that's quicker - the automated.
- Expectations, from ease of use through reliability, are being pushed for supercars. What was once acceptable in the 80's (obscure, difficult to drive, lacking creature comforts, contortionist skills to get in/out, etc) is no longer acceptable to buyers today. So, supercars are becoming just very fast, capable performance versions of products that would otherwise look like luxury sedans on paper - including all of the creature comforts, amenities, and daily drive-ability (hence a trend towards DD friendly transmissions that can pull double duty on a race-track).
But this does cause an interesting dilemma in the second-hand market. There are many more buyers in the second hand market than primary, since depreciation opens up the possibility of purchase to those who couldn't (or wouldn't) otherwise purchase new. There may be a greater proportion of manual buyers in the second-hand market than the primary (again, various reasons here), and that causes a bit of a drought on manual car availability. But over time, and maybe not that far off (a decade or two), I suspect even this will subside. Manuals are, for better or worse, dying out in favor of new technology that does it better and faster... not yet cheaper, but soon enough.
But hey... all said... R-Tronic or Manual? Neither... S-Tronic!
It's the fastest, the friendliest to use, and has the most Jekyll and Hyde abilities for everything from DD in town to race-track. Sorry, couldn't let all of you R-Tronic and manual guys duke it out without S-Tronic representation!
But in all seriousness, as cooljellow states here... it's all buyer preference. Buy what you're going to enjoy driving every time you get behind the wheel... that's the only real consideration.