system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: Why did the automatic transmission catch on in the United States, but not nearly as much in Europe?
gpt
Cost is a huge decider. 

Europeans face far higher gas prices then in the USA. Hence, European cars often focus on efficiency and good kilometers to the litre ratio. They generally have smaller engines, and thus a manual stick is necessary to get full usage out of the car. As Americans have cheaper gas to burn and bigger fuel tanks, they can afford the extra cost of automatic transmission.