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Originally Posted by nicholasn
I see comments like this all the time and it's such a dumb argument. It's like saying AWD is just like RWD except that it also drives the front wheels. Which is to say, it's not.
A manual is manual because you manually actuate the clutch via a clutch pedal/lever, and manually change gears via a physical shift lever going into the transmission (sometimes by way of shift linkage). A DCT actuates the clutches automatically and shifts essentially at the push of a button...you're telling the car to shift, you're not actually shifting.
BMW would disagree  given that it is moving away from DCTs in favor of conventional torque converter automatics from ZF. And transmission "anticipation" is a matter of how it is coded and programmed, not really whether it's TC or DCT. |
Apparently for you, the words "manual" and "automatic" mean different things than where most people read definitions. If you are telling the car to shift gears via a button push you are manually shifting the gears using an automated actuation mechanism. An automatic transmission shifts the gears automatically without thought or input from the driver.
Most of the reason modern automatics get as good gas mileage as manual transmissions is modern automatics simply have more gears to keep the engine in its most efficient RPM range.
I've driven several different insances of ZF 8-speed automatic in BMWs and which was also used in the Cadillac ATS. In automatic mode it can still be in the wrong gear for the traffic situation or driving intent I want the car to be in. The transmission can't see the road or understand my intent for what I want the car to do.
Your argument is automatic transmissions are better than manuals because autos can shift faster than a human can push a clutch and move a lever. Okay, depending on the automatic's design, no argument there. Shift speed of a manual transmission is also a function of mechanical design, meaning the clutch system design gearset design and shift lever linkage design. But when one is using his BMW to drive to the grocery store or to pick up the kids from soccer practice, who really gives a shit how fast the ZF automatic can shift? It's unimportant. What is important to the manual enthusiast in that same scenario is he gets to choose when to shift.
If you find it too much effort to use your left leg and right arm to manually shift the car's gears (vs. pushing a button) then that's a function of you, not the transmission. If your ZF automatic can shift flawlessly and a bit faster to eek out a few tenths of a second faster in trap speeds, who cares. A manual enthusiast doesn't care because he likes to decide when to shift and appreciates the act of driving more.