[MacDoc]

I regularly get in arguments on other mcycle forums about automatic trannies being the way of the future.

Well one of the bastions of sports cars ( and Ferrari and Jaguar as well ) is now telling it's customers to stop whining, shut up and drive.

Not about scoots directly but just reaffirms the move to high tech automatic transmissions at the very top end of speed and performance.

It doesn't have a manual gearbox, but the PDK is supposed to be unbelievably fast and all new for this GT3. We'll live. We'll be sad. But we'll live.

UPDATE: It redlines at 9,000 RPM. It has 475 horsepower. It has rear-axle steering. It gets to 60 in 3.5 seconds. It's made me collapse with excitement.

more of the high tech automatics coming on the motorcycle side as well...count on it.

Best quote of all

The Porsche 911 is all well and good. The 911 Turbo is fantastic. But people that like driving, well they get the 911 GT3. Here's the newest one. Holy **** this looks great. (UPDATE: It's better than you thought.)

http://jalopnik.com/2014-porsche-911-gt ... -450987702

Lose the shifting and concentrate on the driving or riding.....

The question is....can Burgman refine the ECVT even further as it delivers even more performance for machine than a DCT.

 

[DandyDoug]

I think the new automatics are way better than some people think they are.

Let's see ; Formula 1 paddle shift automatic gear boxes , Indycar paddle shift automatic 's, world endurance cars paddle shift automatics .
I think you get my drift

There is still a place for a manual transmission in the world and i do like shifting gears setting up for a corner etc .
But think about this; how many driver education cars are there at high schools that have a manual transmission , not many would be my guess :lol:

I can tell you that most of the kids around here have no idea how to drive a manual transmission. I think it's kind of sad , but that's how the motoring world has changed.

As for all those big hairy bikers who scoff at our little automatic Burgmans, send them around here and I'll be happy to give them a lesson in how to run up and down the mountain roads . That's saying if they can keep the back of me in sight :lol:

 

[Desert Rat]

Yea I think the day of the stick shift in cars will be a thing of the past. Over the road trucks with their torque will have sticks for a long time. Motorcycles will still have them but I could see where a Gold Wing would be right for a auto trans.
Did you see where GM & Ford are going together to build 8-speed autos. :shock:

 

[Duster]

Over the road trucks with their torque will have sticks for a long time.

You might be surprised how many 18 wheelers are running automatics.

 

[Dave_J]

Over the road trucks with their torque will have sticks for a long time.

You might be surprised how many 18 wheelers are running automatics.

They have been working on a CVT for big trucks. Imagine a 20,000 RPM gas Turbine engine with a CVT. Set the RPM at maximum Torque and let the CVT do the work. :thumbup:

 

[v8eyedoc]

Nissan....already has most of their cars using CVT's...............!!!!! And I spoke to a number of owners and they just love the performance..............

 

[DandyDoug]

A friend of ours has a Nissan Murano ( sort of an SUV/Cross ) he loves the transmission.
I have ridden in it and it is very smooth , but it does not make all that cute little Burgman groaning/noise

 

[Duster]

[quote="Desert Rat":32ckvyoz] They have been working on a CVT for big trucks. Imagine a 20,000 RPM gas Turbine engine with a CVT. Set the RPM at maximum Torque and let the CVT do the work. :thumbup:

[/quote:32ckvyoz]

Back in the mid-70's, Detroit Diesel Allison had a couple of Astro cabover trucks in their fleet
that were powered by turbine engines...rolling test-beds...that had big Allison automatic
transmissions. I saw them at the loading-dock at the transmission plant in Speedway, IN
where they built the biggest transmissions for military tanks, & busses.
Those turbine powered trucks were easy to tell the difference from the regular diesel trucks
because of the insulation-wrapped 12 inch dual exhaust pipes.....in fact, those pipes are
what attracted my attention. When I asked a worker on the loading dock about the pipes,
he explained about the turbine engines, as he walked me down to peek around the back
of the cab...lots of shielding around the turbine...couldn't really see much, but could
easily tell it wasn't a typical Detroit Diesel engine. Got lucky to be leaving the plant on
one occassion, when one of the turbine trucks was firing up, getting ready to leave.
Very smooth drive-off.

 

[Desert Rat]

Yea I know there are automatics in trucks. All of our Fire trucks, street sweeper, & buses had autos when I worked for City of Palm Springs.

 

[Muse]

A friend of ours has a Nissan Murano ( sort of an SUV/Cross ) he loves the transmission.
I have ridden in it and it is very smooth , but it does not make all that cute little Burgman groaning/noise

"Burgman cute groaning noises" no wonder this happens when you see the recommended all up weight that should be on it, just look at those who are riding/overloading the burgman LOL. the Nissan Murano is designed to carry a ton or more hehehehe.
I drive a Citroen C4 Grand Picasso 7 seat people mover which as a CVT type transmission and my fuel economy is on par with my Burgman,it averages 5.6 litres around town. Try and get this out of a Ford or GM people mover. The Europeans and Japanese are leading the world in technology in my opinion.

 

[ErikDK]

I've never heard about a Citroën with CVT, but from Google it seems that Australia, New Zealand and South Africa get them.

We only get the awful E6G, which is a normal single-clutch manual gearbox controlled by a computer with gearshifts with truck speed.

 

[MacDoc]

More about the demise of the manual transmission

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-dr ... e11746795/

snip

Playing devil’s advocate, I will concede that the clutchless transmission is technically superior to the deeply flawed shift-control device known as the human being. Unlike a human, the DCT never misreads engine speed, blows a mid-corner downshift, or tries to drive in stiletto heels. And the DCT can shift in milliseconds.

The technology is now standard (no pun intended) in the world of Formula One, where engineers will do whatever it takes to cut lap times. Why let a driver interfere with the perfection of digital shifting? The DCT shifts faster than a driver can, and it automates the finicky task of rev-matching on high-speed downshifts – a digital processor reads wheel speed, then revs the motor to the perfect rpm, so even an amateur can shift without a lurch.

The first time I drove a clutchless Porsche on a race track, I was amazed: as I arced into the notoriously tricky Turn Five at Mosport (now called Canadian Tire Motorsport Park), the car ripped off a flawless, completely unbidden downshift, as if the ghost of Ayrton Senna had drifted into the Porsche’s cabin to replace me on the pedals and shift lever. The perfection of the shifts was uncanny, and the Porsche could do it all without my assistance (although there were little steering-wheel buttons I could push to command a shift, the onboard computers could time the shifts better than any human, so why bother?).

Now the ECVTs take it one step further with practically infinite ratios. Tech moves on....

 

[Mike337]

I think the new automatics are way better than some people think they are.

Let's see ; Formula 1 paddle shift automatic gear boxes , Indycar paddle shift automatic 's, world endurance cars paddle shift automatics .
I think you get my drift

There is still a place for a manual transmission in the world and i do like shifting gears setting up for a corner etc .
But think about this; how many driver education cars are there at high schools that have a manual transmission , not many would be my guess :lol:

I can tell you that most of the kids around here have no idea how to drive a manual transmission. I think it's kind of sad , but that's how the motoring world has changed.

As for all those big hairy bikers who scoff at our little automatic Burgmans, send them around here and I'll be happy to give them a lesson in how to run up and down the mountain roads . That's saying if they can keep the back of me in sight :lol:

Those are all Manuel gear boxes with a sequential shifting trans. Just like a motorcycle.

 

[DandyDoug]

I knew they were sequential , but are they not all dual clutch and air assisted in F-1 and Indy Car ??

 

[Jaseun]

Volvo heavy trucks come standard with 'automatics' now.

 

[Dave_J]

I had a US ARMY 5 ton 6X6 with an automatic back in 1986. With a HUGE box on the rear that was close to 5 tons it was faster than an empty TURBO 2 1/2 "Duce and a half" . :thumbup: The gear slection was why.

 

[Chatman128]

Automatic transmissions are nice and, if you believe the EPA est mpg stickers, equally as or more efficient than manual transmissions.

But my wife and I were once mugged coming out of a restaurant and the only thing that prevented it becoming a car jacking was that the a$$hats that robbed us saw the clutch pedal and shifter and changed their minds. My wife now considers it a required safety feature to have a manual transmission in any new car purchase.

 

[ErikDK]

Since Florida is CCW and has SYG law, why not enjoy a good auto transmission with your semi-automatic pistol, and let the would-be car-jackers meet their maker sooner than later?

 

[claymore]

I fully agree with ErikDK