>> Paul, here is my next Pius:
    >>
    >> >> http://www.canadiandriver.com/articles/gw/vw1litre.htm
    >> Bulent
    >
    >> I totally agree but big brother government is looking out
    >> for you and they will never allow it. Too dangerous in
    >> a crash. An 18 wheeler driver would hardly notice anything more
    >> than a slight bump in the road :)
    >
    > > Paul Lamar
    >
    >
    > Well, it isn't any worse than the average motorcycle which many
   drivers
    > can't see anyway.  I'm confused by the "6-speed manual transmission
    > that shifts automatically".
    >
    > Bob W.

   The Smart car diesel has a manual automatic...  if you punch it to the
   floor, it feels like there is a little German under your seat shifting
   the manual trans for you, including using a clutch and adjusting the
   throttle accordingly. If you drive it normally, you don't notice it...
   the trans is a  manual trans, with a set of servos controlled by a
   computer to shift and actuate the clutch and throttle retard.

   -dave A


   That's cool. I like the idea of the paddle shifter on the steering
   wheel like the Formula 1 cars have. Perhaps seven or eight manual gears
   automatically shifted and a trap door P-port would fix the RX8
   acceleration problem and improve the steady speed cruise fuel
   consumption
   by lowering the cruise RPM in one fell swoop.

   Paul Lamar ...No rotor no motor.



Pardon me for being the devil's advocate...  This sounds like more stuff
to break.  Or, maybe I should questions first.   How are these manual
automatics different from Tiptronic, and how are those different from
just having a normal automatic, but instead of a column or console
mounted shift lever, you put paddles on the steering wheel.  Do these
things have a torque converter?  Or is it really solenoid operated
clutch?  If it's actually a clutch, how does it work in stop and go
driving?

This just goes back to the idea that if you have an engine with modest
horsepower, and if that horsepower only happens in a small range of RPM,
you need a sophisticated transmission with lots of gears.  If the
engine's power band is wide, you can get away with a 2 speed powerglide.


Matt-

True but piston engines have evolved from push rods and rockers to dual over head cams
and four valves per cylinder with variable valve timing. Less complicated
than that.