I have noticed that modern sedans are MASSIVE. Every time I have the displeasure of renting a car they force upon me a full-size sedan (they seem to never have 'compact' vehicles available), and the cars are gigantic, feel heavy, visibility is terrible because the windows have been made smaller and smaller and the A-pillars larger and larger in a competition for higher safety ratings. When I visit Europe I'm jealous of how much smaller the sedans are- everything is just a little more narrow, a little thinner, and yes, have a manual transmission. The American market seems to put people into cars that look and drive like military tanks.