Not really everyone wants to afford an automatic car if they just use it for a commute. Manual cars suck in rush hour traffic. For off road 4×4 vehicles and other utility vehicles, a good 6 speed manual, with a transfer case with low range and a set of locking differentials offers you the ability to get pretty much anywhere and is much less complicated than some electronic 4 wheel drive system.
However if you do your licence test in an automatic car, you get a license that only allows you to drive automatics. So almost everyone does their test in a manual car, and knows how to drive manual at some point.
Do people outside of America think they’re better for doing so?
Not really everyone wants to afford an automatic car if they just use it for a commute. Manual cars suck in rush hour traffic. For off road 4×4 vehicles and other utility vehicles, a good 6 speed manual, with a transfer case with low range and a set of locking differentials offers you the ability to get pretty much anywhere and is much less complicated than some electronic 4 wheel drive system.
However if you do your licence test in an automatic car, you get a license that only allows you to drive automatics. So almost everyone does their test in a manual car, and knows how to drive manual at some point.