Clever Theft Prevention Idea

"David W. Poole, Jr."
<TedKennedyMurderedHisPregnantMistress.dwpj65@spam gourmet.com> wrote in
message ...
> As well as give you a car that's more fun to drive and that performs
> better. But then again you wouldn't know anything about that, would
> you?

An automatic transmission doesn't necessarily perform measureably worse.
Automatic or computer controlled transmissions are going to wipe out manuals
in all but the econoboxes and the third world countries. Already the AT's
in a Honda or Toyota come close, or in some cases, excede the economy and
performance of the manual version.

Volkswagen/Audi have direct shift gearboxes in some of their newer cars.
It shifts faster than a human ever could, and it has no losses to a torque
converter (it has actual clutches). You can drive it like a manual or an
automatic. Some of the other European cars have sequential manuals (some
Mercedes-Benz cars, the DaimlerChrysler Smart car)- you have to upshift, but
when you brake it downshifts automaticly.

Magnulus wrote:

>
> "David W. Poole, Jr."
> <TedKennedyMurderedHisPregnantMistress.dwpj65@spam gourmet.com> wrote in
> message ...
>> As well as give you a car that's more fun to drive and that performs
>> better. But then again you wouldn't know anything about that, would
>> you?
>
> An automatic transmission doesn't necessarily perform measureably
> worse.
> Automatic or computer controlled transmissions are going to wipe out
> manuals
> in all but the econoboxes and the third world countries. Already the AT's
> in a Honda or Toyota come close, or in some cases, excede the economy and
> performance of the manual version.
>
> Volkswagen/Audi have direct shift gearboxes in some of their newer cars.
> It shifts faster than a human ever could, and it has no losses to a torque
> converter (it has actual clutches). You can drive it like a manual or an
> automatic. Some of the other European cars have sequential manuals (some
> Mercedes-Benz cars, the DaimlerChrysler Smart car)- you have to upshift,
> but when you brake it downshifts automaticly.

Manuals are extremely stupid:

1. You can't use "gas pedal got stuck" defense if you plow through a crowd.

2. It's harder to hold a cell phone and shift at the same time, which makes
you drive slower: you have to go "hold on a second, I'm shifting gears".

In article >,
Magnulus > wrote:
>
> An automatic transmission doesn't necessarily perform measureably worse.
>Automatic or computer controlled transmissions are going to wipe out manuals
>in all but the econoboxes and the third world countries.

You understand we've been hearing that for decades and it still hasn't
come to pass, right? Same old song gets tired after a while.

>Already the AT's
>in a Honda or Toyota come close, or in some cases, excede the economy and
>performance of the manual version.

Economy, yes. Performance, forget about it.
--
There's no such thing as a free lunch, but certain accounting practices can
result in a fully-depreciated one.

> 1. You can't use "gas pedal got stuck" defense if you plow through a
crowd.

Sure you could... Gas pedal AND clutch pedal got stuck....



> 2. It's harder to hold a cell phone and shift at the same time, which
makes
> you drive slower: you have to go "hold on a second, I'm shifting
gears".

Hands free baby, hands free.

"Larry Bud" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> > 1. You can't use "gas pedal got stuck" defense if you plow through a
> crowd.
>
> Sure you could... Gas pedal AND clutch pedal got stuck....

Something like that happened when my uncle was attempting to teach me how
to drive his manual truck. I was pulling into the driveway after a lesson
and I somehow plowed the truck into my Grandpa's truck. It only caused
about 300 dollars of damage to my uncle's truck, and didn't damage my
Grandpa's 1960's Ford F series a bit. Somehow I gave it a little too much
power trying to get uphill into the driveway- and I went to press the brake
but it was too late- the clutch thing probably confused the heck out of me.

Since that time, I've pretty much stuck with manuals. Learning to drive
well is a chore in itself. I also hate how manuals, especially the
gasoline ones, are stall-mad once you take your foot off the gas. It
requires a totally different coordination- not just hands on the wheel and
one foot, but two hands doing two different things and two feet doing two
different things.

I think a Formula 1 or Mercedes/Audi/Daimler type clutchless shifter would
be a snap, though.

I can imagine when everybody had manuals, though, people drove alot more
carefully because cellphones and other things to fool with besides driving
were impossible.

"Matthew Russotto" > wrote in message
...
> Economy, yes. Performance, forget about it.

Look up "direct shift gearbox". It shifts faster than is humanly
possible. It drives like an automatic in ever other respect, including
simulation of the torque creep, but it can also be shifted like a manual
(though I suspect in the US they will just go for a tiptronic or sequential
shift, if even that).

In article >,
Magnulus > wrote:
>
>"Matthew Russotto" > wrote in message
...
>> Economy, yes. Performance, forget about it.
>
> Look up "direct shift gearbox". It shifts faster than is humanly
>possible.

Try again. The subject was the ordinary automatic transmissions in a
current Honda or Toyota. Audi has a number of interesting
transmission ideas (such as a steel-belted CVT) which don't seem to
have made it mainstream; the direct-shift gearbox is another one.

Personally I doubt it ever will make it mainstream; the cost and
complexity of having the extra clutch will cause it to lose out
compared to other "automatically-controlled manual" systems.
--
There's no such thing as a free lunch, but certain accounting practices can
result in a fully-depreciated one.

Actually the Audi CVT is currently available in 4 and 6 cylinder A4 and
A6's, as well as in some VW's, and it does accelerate quicker than a
manual.

http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/roadt...1/article.html

Same with the dual clutch, it is currently available for the Audi TT
and VW R32.

http://www.germancarfans.com/News.cf...ID=2021129.001