Meh, manual transmissions had lackluster sales for years before they were finally killed off. I believe the take rate on Fords was in the low single digits in their best years in recent memory.
The old adage, "If you build it they will come" just doesn't apply to hand shakers.
That's so true, everybody loves the sticks but nobody ever buys them. Even the sports car market is changing with all the new auto/manual tip slap paddle rev match and so on