4 speeds cost more than automatics. It's false nomenclature when people refer to 4 speeds as "standards". There was never anything "standard" about a 4 speed and very few cars recieved them as default equipment.
The three speed has always been the "standard" from the around the 80s to back when cars first came into existence. Most people then preferred column back then because usually Junior was riding between mom and dad.
I have seen a lot of 3.23 with manual transmission. Remember the torque convertor of an auto has a torque multiplier property that direct drive manuals do not have. So a lower gear is needed for a manual transmission to take off stronger. However I have heard of 2.76 gears with a manual but they don't take off very confidently.
