Mercedes continues to ignore that MT's are awesome.

  • Thread starter Thread starter Tornado
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well i wouldnt say that. if there's a 5 series or 7 series bmw's its automatic.
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There you have the other 5%. :)


oh and actually, why arent automatic cars in europe so popular?
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Well, there are no automatic cars in any driving school. Everyone learns how to drive on cars with manual transmission. You get used to it, so why change?
 
Also, I can't imagine getting the same fun driving over the Pennines in an auto as I got in any of the cars I've owned. My take on it is that in Europe, people don't have to travel as far in general as people in America, also our roads generally arn't as straight as they are in America and our cities generally arn't as big and as gridlocked as they are in America (forgive me if any of that is missconcieved). What that would all equate to, is a very different set of parameters to create a satisfacory driving experience on each side of the big pond. If you replaced thoes b-roads over the Pennines with mostly straight roads like an interstate. Increased the size of the cities like Manchester and increased the traffic on the roads by 50-100%, and made the distance to see my relatives over there 160 miles instead of 60, I'd probably say for a situation like that, an auto may become preferrable to a much higher percent of us here than it currently is. But it isn't, and autos generally arn't the preferred transmition of choice here and that may be a key reason why.
 
Dave A
Also, I can't imagine getting the same fun driving over the Pennines in an auto as I got in any of the cars I've owned. My take on it is that in Europe, people don't generally have to travel as far in general as people in America, also our roads generally arn't as straight as they are in America and our cities geenrally arn't as big and as gridlocked as they are in America (forgive me if any of that is missconcieved). What that would all equate to, is a very different set of parameters to create a satisfacory driving experience on each side of the big pond. If you replaced thoes b-roads over the Pennines with mostly straight interstate. Increased the size of Manchester nad the traffic on the roads by 50% and 100% respectively, and made the distance to see my relatives over there 160 miles instead of 60, I'd probably say for a situation like that, an auto may become preferrable to a much higher percent of us here than it currently is. But it isn't, and autos geenrally arn't the preferred transmition of choice here and that may be a key reason why.
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sounds like a good analogy to me
 
TheCracker
I presume you mean Ferrari, Lamborghini and Audi's - paddle-shift manual gearboxes? ...they all have clutches.

The SLR does have an auto box, but the others are definately traditional manual boxes with the addition of clever electronic actuators to shift the gears. They are in no way a 'AT'. The Veyron, which is considered an auto of sorts, even has two clutches!
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*Just a small side-note if I may.
The SLR 722 has been developed with paddle shifts for manual junkies. :)
 
*McLaren*
*Just a small side-note if I may.
The SLR 722 has been developed with paddle shifts for manual junkies. :)
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Yeah, noticed that, which is why i latter added....

TheCracker
... This is the difference between a paddle operated auto - like in the SLR, and a paddle operated manual - like a Ferrari F1, Lambo E-gear or Audi R-tronic (which is a variation on Lambo's set-up) gearboxes.
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;)

- did the regular SLR not have paddles?
 
Scaff
Not quite, automatic gearboxes fitted with a torque converter do not have mechanical clutches, the torque converter doing that job instead. It does get slightly more confusing in that torque converters themselves do contain clutches , however common agreement is that a torque converter automatic does not have a mechanical clutch in the way we commonly understand from manual transmissions.
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While I agree that in operation a manual transmission and an automatic are totally different, to nitpick the point, there are clutches in the auto box itself besides the lockup clutch in the torque converter (which actually sits outside of the tranny itself). These clutches, along with the bands, are controlled by the tranny line pressure to hold together various parts of the planetary gearset to achieve various gear ratios.
 
I think the regular SLR has paddles as well, on the 722 they are carbon fiber so maybe thats the difference.
 

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