Earlier this week we lauded Nissan's decision to offer only manual transmissions in the diesel-powered 2010 Nissan Maxima (ED NOTE: only to find out that this may not be true), because we heart the clutch for fun and fuel economy. Then Freeman pointed out this will likely lead to a glut of used diesel Maximas on the market in a matter of months. This brings up a frequently mentioned concern around the Jalop-o-sphere, what we like to call the inverse demand factor: the cars we want the most are the cars that often sell the least.
The average Jalopnik reader/commenter/lurker tends to want a diesel-powered Kei car or a veggie-powered matte black El Camino. As much as we'd like a wagon version of the Lotus Exige GT3, we're probably not going to see one anytime soon. But that's not all we want. Sometimes we just want a little less weight, or a little more power. Is a manual transmission too much to ask for?
Though, maybe we're looking at it wrong. Maybe we're the tastemakers. We're finally getting a C1-based Focus and el Fiesta from Ford after years of pleading. We're getting the Pontiac G8 Sport Truck of our dreams. We've been unimpressed by the glut of SUVs, CUVs and Whatever-UVs on the market for years and now their sales are slumping. Sure, you could explain that away with gas prices, but maybe America is just coming around to our way of thinking? Or is following our suggestions a path to inevitable destruction?