Automatic Transmission Versus Manual Transmission

The following was posted on an internet forum in October last year. http://myfastgti.com/volkswagen/showthread.php/dsg-vs-manual-true-drivers-standpoint-451p10.html

I got quite a few pats on the back by fellow forumers who agreed with me; and of course, there were those who disagreed with my views and tried to invalid my arguments.

Maybe a little background as to why I wrote this post. I got more than my fair share of jibes from psuedo-manual trans purists for driving an auto sports coupe (Honda Integra, aka Acura RSX). Hence, I retorted that they (the manual trans purists) will be relegated to hobby status in the near future. To those who read between the lines, this is akin to saying that the purists will be sidelined to the irrelevances. This post was a way to get back at them. Of course, all this was done in good humour :)

ps: upon re-reading my post, i felt i could've tidied up some loose ends, but to be fair to those who responded, i decided to publish the unabridged version.

Here it goes:


Assertion:
I assert that Automatic transmission, will account for 90-95% of the cars in the next 50 years.

Definition:
For simplicity sake, automatic transmission means clutchless transmission, which includes torque converter, smg, dsg, etc. that means you don't have to manually clutch in and out to change gears.

Argument:

1. AT technoloogy has improved to a level where the machine can actually shift faster than human.

2. AT technology is actually more power efficient. by shifting faster than a human can, AT reduces power loss experienced during shifting. dsg's 8ms vs ferraris enzo's 120ms vs human's actions of approx 200ms. the best AT beats the best human's actions by more than 20 times.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct-Shift_Gearbox

yes, dsg is heavier, but the odds of them getting lighter as technology advances, against a human losing weight, well... you get the picture.

3. AT technology has been proven, and adopted, at the pinnacle of motor sports, eg. WRC, F1, drag racing, etc. but of course you will argue they at at the TOP, how many can get access to those technology?

consider this: the at the birth of internet, only a select few has access to it, during the early 60s. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet#Creation, but how many pple access the internet now?

4. "Completing the MISSION" vs "FLYING the mission" (take note of the caps). with the advances in warplane technologies (or even commercial ariplanes), the trend is towards more automation to achieve higher mission success rates, and less dependability on human skills. put simply, "reduce the volatility and variability of human skills, just get the MISSION accomplished."
put this in the context of daily driving. the mission here is to get from point A to point B. well, AT will get that done more efficiently and effectively.

5. stubborn purists will cling on to their old and soon-to-be deluded argument that" driving a manual get more control, more feel, more fun, most of the time much faster, won't trade that more a puny AT."

well, consider this, during the late 1880s when automobiles are still at their infancy, i'd imagine those then-purist, the horse riders, mocking the ugly piece of steel and motor, saying they "won't trade their beloved horses for a puny motorcar". riding a horse requires more skill, can get more feel, more control, than driving those cars.

u can imagine a skilled horseman telling a motorcar driver:

"hey i control my horses better than u" (modern version: "hey i can change gears, rev-match, do watever, control my car better than your AT")

or

"hey my horse cost so much less than your car and can go much faster" (modern version: "hey my MT is cheaper but much faster than your AT..." (sounds familiar?))

i could go on, but u get my drift.

Conclusion and Future

AT is here to stay. And they will grow in numbers faster and faster, for, but not limited, to reasons i have provided - cost, efficiency, and mission.

MT purist will be relegated (or promoted, if you like) to the peripheral status of a hobby or sports. just like horse-riding is a hobby or a sports now.

And in the words of Peter Drucker: the future is here now.