Quote:
Originally Posted by jeremyc74
To me, the term "manual" means the driver is physically moving the gear selection mechanism, and the transmission isn't capable of shifting on its own without energy input from the driver.
Automatics have always had a means to allow drivers to select whatever gear they want, but that doesn't make them manual transmissions. It just makes them manually selectable.
Anything that's capable of shifting with no driver input (other than putting it in D) is an automatic in my book.
That said, I'm a big fan of DCT transmissions, and not all automatics are created equal. There's a massive difference between a DCT and a traditional torque converter based auto, and people (especially people who think 3 pedals are always better) should stop trying to lump them all into one generic catagory. At the same time, fans of the DCT should stop trying to say it isn't an auto. If you can put it in Drive and go from 0-155MPH without ever touching it, that's the very definition of the term.
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I prefer to differentiate them by how they feel and function, and not just how the gears are selected. That's why I would not own most automatics, including the pre-135i/335i automatics.
The TC automatics in these cars are the exception not the rule. I seriously considered getting one as it's one damn fine TC automatic.
As far as those DCT fans who say it's not an "automatic", why shouldn't they say that? Technically, the DCT does operate automatically, and it is a type of automatic trans.
But, in feel and how it does it's job, it's distinctly different than a TC automatic or a CVT. Why are you so vehement on ignoring the differences? Calling them all "automatics" implies what the definition of that term has meant for decades, that it's a torque converter transmission that is designed to shift through the gears on it's own. That's what people think when they hear the term "automatic trans".
To me this is a case of a distinction WITH a difference.
If the deciding factor is simply how the trans changes gears, then all of these; DSG, DCT, DVT, Automatic would be called "automatics" transmissions would not have a need for the alphabet soup.
But, to simply categorize them based on that one limiting factor doesn't do it justice.
We'll just have to agree to disagree.
