Retort: Professional athletes and CEO's don't know how to drive manuals and Danica Patrick is a Indycar driver. I'm not sayin, I'm just saying. They got me to use a computer, I'll be damned if they get me to drive an AT. Better, Faster or otherwise........ THIS IS AMERICA DAMMIT.

I will always prefer a proper manual transmission, but I can't deny the superiority of the modern automatic transmission. Not too many years ago the ATs would lose one or two tenths per shift to their manual counterparts. Not anymore...

Hell, the first 370 I drove was a 7AT... and I LOVED it.

Actual the anaglogy you want is VHS v. DVD, Blu-ray is just higher quality DVD with no extra gains (maybe online connectivity but that can be found in DVD also).

At the quoted line, this is not for the AT v. 6MT debate, but those companies have also spent millions on perfecting the technology. Now Nissan has been working just as hard, and has made a 7AT that I myself almost bought, but there is a rather large difference between what Ferrari/Lambo are doing and what Nissan is doing with the automatics. Will Nissan be there? Someday, but not today.

i wouldn't go as far as comparing AT's to electronically controlled double clutch manuals (SMG/DSG, etc).

those are more like manuals than conventional AT's. when the clutch is engaged, it is
engaged. does not slush around.

Just so I don't get flamed when I go to bed (I get nightmares and cold sweats). My favorite person on this thread drives a 7AT. It's ALL GOOD, either way you go. I'm just doing a little late night rabble-rousing.

Anecdote: When I was a kid and I was emulating driving, making engine noise with my mouth, you know with the vrrrmm.... vrmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, vrmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. I always had both hands on the make believe steering wheel.

when i was a kid, all my vrrroom vrroooom sounds were MT... even had a poor shift into 2nd gear with a slight slip on the clutch sound. lol :D

If the AT wasn't as good as it is, there wouldn't be a debate.

preach on preacher

And with the reported 6MT synchro problems that seem to be happening, there really is no debate. :eek:


Sorry, couldn't resist... ;)

Ahem...on a more serious note, I've owned plenty of manuals, and currently own this manual:

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m...e/DSC00163.jpg

All I can say is I have just as much fun in my 370Z with 7AT, especially with (or maybe because of) the tiptronic shifter and paddleshifters!

Aww I missed another Transmission debate.

I like both the 6mt and the 7at. I personally do not like either. :icon17:

Not preaching, just sticking up for the autos. Thats it, not going to enter into any more AT V MT discussions.;)

I read this article a couple months ago on C&D concerning the speed of the 7at.
Its weird this is coming out as new info now.

I luv the 7at. Its fun as f%&k n the FORMULA 1, magnesium paddle-shifts are wicked.

Its the BEST auto I encountered. I test drove 4 other competitors in auto and this was by Far the best auto.
I recently got a chance to drive a dsg gti. The Z auto imo was better. More power I think tipped that scale.

A quick review, the best 0-60 time I've seen for the A/T is 4.6 (Car and Driver) and the best for the 6MT is 4.7 (Motor Trend). The gap between the two is pretty insignificant, though I must admit that the performance improvements have come along way for automatic transmissions. If we could run the two side by side we'd get a better feel for the actual difference. The 6MT driver has NO room for error and I think that sums up the bottom line between the two transmissions.

Why the 7AT over the 6MT.

The 7AT is "one" more.

/this-is-spinal-tap-movie

But comparing MT to C&D is a bit apples-to-oranges. Car and Driver has reviewed both and got a 4.9 (13.5 @ 106 mph 1/4) out of the manual and a 4.6 (13.1 @ 108 in 1/4) out of the auto. Doesn't make sense but I assume they are running at the same place/elevation. Ambient Temp changes can make a small difference but it would have to be significant to make up that much of a difference. Somehow Nissan has pulled off something with a slushbox no one else ever has as far as I know.