Don't worry guys, as long as common sense customers demand, quality, robust bicycles, we will be able to get them. There may be some hard times if manufacturers jump the gun, but even if Trek and Specialized and the others get too far ahead of trends, custom manufacturers will find themselves going big and the major manufacturers will be bought out by Pacific (that thought made me smile ironically, how about you?).
As far as the question of auto or manual transmission, I just bought a car two weeks ago. One lot told me they sold 50:1 autos over manuals. How could so many people willingly pay more to miss out on the extra control, reliability, and performance? Plus the feel of real driving. I don't plan on getting an auto until I start to feel the effects of age and don't know what I would do with in-dash GPS, computer-controlled seat position, or gazillions of LED's flashing all over the place.
__________________
"The internet is a place where absolutely nothing happens. You need to take advantage of that." ~
Strong Bad