Quote:
Originally Posted by jeremyc74
By very definition "automatic" means it shifts by itself. Throwing the torque converter in there is pointless. Do you not consider a CVT an automatic? All torque converter based transmission can take driver input for gear selection. Calling them manuals because of that is just marketing BS.
DCT is an automatic transmission. It shifts automatically. That doesn't means it's the same as a traditional torque converter based transmission, but it's damn sure not manual in any sense of the word.
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I didn't state that I don't consider the DCT a type of "automatic". It does work "automatically", as I clearly stated that.
That is why I described what I think a "true automatic" is, as I put it in quotations.
Nowhere did I state that a DCT can't be considered a type of automatic.
There IS a difference in feel due to the lack of a torque converter, and I spoke to that as well. For me, all of these "automatics" feel different in operation.
Regarding a CVT, yes, it too is a type of automatic trans, and it too has a different feel, even more so than the difference between a TC auto and an automated clutch auto.
The guy asked how someone would define what an "automatic" trans is.
So, I explained what I think it is.
I understand the technologies and have experienced how they work and feel. There are distinct differences. Simply because any of them can operate automatically only serves to classify them in terms of how the trans can execute a shift.
Categorizing them all under one term, "automatic", dilutes the distinction between them, as they are not the same in operation or feel.
Using one term would be fine if we were talking to people who don't understand their differences. But, this is an enthusiast site, so it deserves more distinction, again, IMO.
