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I blame Ferrari
They were among the first to abandon manual transmissions, mostly aligning with changing conventions in racing. The performance numbers with DCT/F1 style transmissions were just better and that was a big advantage in the days when people actually cared about performance numbers and we didn't have sub 3 second family cars.
Once you had companies like Ferrari endorsing the automatic life, a lot of the stigma was removed.
It used to be getting a manual transmission was the faster, cheaper and more fuel efficient option. Automatics were terrible in the 80s and 90s. Once manufacturers started offering automatics for free, a lot of the cheap manuals were gone from the market. Once those disappeared, it became harder for teens to learn to drive stick. No cars were available.
As those teens get older, it becomes that much harder to learn. It's very intimidating to buy a car you don't know how to drive and adults don't like to be embarrassed.
So now we have a huge swath of drivers who can't drive stick, free automatics that are faster and more efficient than stick, and all the fastest cars are available only with automatic.
Frankly, cars like the M5 are too big, powerful and numb to really be enjoyable with a stick. The auto really does serve that car better. Doesn't mean I necessarily prefer the experience. My 993 is a stick and way slower than the M5 and I'd pick it 10/10 for pure driving fun. For a DD that has to serve multiple duties - the M5 with automatic is the better choice. Besides, the power plant of the M5 has virtually instantaneous torque at very low RPMs. You don't really have to work the engine. The fun of stick having to thrash an engine into the stratosphere and keeping it on the boil. The slow death of NA motors has also contributed to the demise of stick.
Bottom line - it's sad but not surprising that stick is dying off.
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