"Cé hé sin" (michael-m-mouse)
07/29/2014 at 15:10 • Filed to: None
2
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"Cé hé sin" (michael-m-mouse)
07/29/2014 at 15:10 • Filed to: None | 2
| 16 |
Everyone seems to hate them, especially if they've never used one. Take the Smart. Until the next model arrives you get an AMT or you buy something else. Everyone is agreed that it ruins the car. But guess what? I rented one, expecting to be shaken, stirred and appalled ..aaand.. it was fine. Smooth changes, an intelligent gearchange philosophy, easy manoeuvring - what more could you want? So I had more. Citroen C3? Fine. Peugeot 107? Fine. Volvo bus (OK, I wasn't actually driving that)? Fine.
So why all the hate?
RazoE
> Cé hé sin
07/29/2014 at 15:15 |
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You drove an auto that can be shifted manually. Most people hate manuals that can be shifted automatically.
Jeremy H formerly Kalakaboooom
> Cé hé sin
07/29/2014 at 15:16 |
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My personal philosophy, if you like using an AMT, why not get an actual MT? I dunno I'm just old fashioned, I've owned a few autos, I appreciate them, but I just like manuals.
Wacko
> Cé hé sin
07/29/2014 at 15:21 |
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my 2003 mazda protegé5 was my first and only automatic car, It had the AMT on it, I used the +/- shift's for the first 2 months, then just kept it in d like everybody else does. I went back to a real Manual after.
At least the pic you posted was like mazda, with the + when you pull on it. most automakers get that wrong.
Mercedes Streeter
> Cé hé sin
07/29/2014 at 15:23 |
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Haters gonna hate!
For anyone that cares, that fill-up was $35 @ $4.09/gal.
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Cé hé sin
> Jeremy H formerly Kalakaboooom
07/29/2014 at 15:25 |
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Same reasons as choosing any kind of automatic I suppose - easier in traffic and so on especially if you're an older or nervous driver.
As I think about it their main use is in these:
No fuel consumption disadvantages over a manual (sometimes there'll be an advantage as the box tends to even out drivers) and drivers don't have to struggle with twelve or more manual gears. Oddly American trucks still usually have manuals whereas European ones are about 90% automated.
DipodomysDeserti
> Cé hé sin
07/29/2014 at 15:26 |
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Those HVAC controls look identical to my Abarth.
Oh, and automated manuals suck. You're almost always better off just using the automatic.
NotUnlessRoundIsFunny
> Cé hé sin
07/29/2014 at 15:27 |
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Your experience with the Smart transmission was much better than mine. The one I drove (on vacation) was pretty dreadful—rough, unpredictable shifts that conspired to take away from the driving experience. It just didn't do its job very well, so either a decent automatic or a manual would have been preferable.
The CVT in the Dodge Caliber was much better, and it wasn't very good. There, I said it. :-)
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Cé hé sin
> DipodomysDeserti
07/29/2014 at 15:28 |
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They should look the same, it's a 500!. Polish made ones get the amt, Mexican ones get a conventional automatic.
lone_liberal
> Cé hé sin
07/29/2014 at 15:31 |
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I was in Seattle over the weekend and made my usual pilgrimage down to the Pike Place Market. On the street that runs right in front of it there was a beautiful Lotus Elise S, but the guy driving really needed an automated manual. Perhaps downtown Seattle, packed with cars, pedestrians and steep hills, is not the place to learn to drive stick.
miadaman? yes please
> Mercedes Streeter
07/29/2014 at 15:51 |
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While looking up the actual MPG figures for smartcar for a lameass retort, I was surprised to realize the first ever production year was all the way back in 1998.
/themoreiknow
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Mercedes Streeter
> miadaman? yes please
07/29/2014 at 15:57 |
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And initial concepts dating back to the 80's!!
My lifetime average is just under 42 MPG ...Though when it's warm out I easily average mid-40s or better.
"Winter Blend" fuels and zubzero Winter temps work a number on MPG.
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miadaman? yes please
> Mercedes Streeter
07/29/2014 at 16:01 |
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It's like when they were developing a van they just said f it half way through. Neat stuff though, there's a diesel 1999 on fuelly doing apparently 62MPG.
Kanaric
> Cé hé sin
07/29/2014 at 16:05 |
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So is this like a dct or a slushbox triptronic thing?
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Mercedes Streeter
> miadaman? yes please
07/29/2014 at 16:06 |
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Yeah, unfortunately we didn't get the diesels here in America. There was a diesel that ran a Cannonball Run in the UK that averaged 98 Imp. MPG.
Then, on top of that, the US smarts have some MPG robbing emissions equipment. Thanks, EPA.
Even better, the concept car had sliding doors!
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Cé hé sin
> Kanaric
07/29/2014 at 16:17 |
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Neither. Manual clutch and box, controlled electrically. Same as a Smart. Sounds and feels like a manual with a pause between gearchanges.
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Cé hé sin
> RazoE
07/29/2014 at 16:23 |
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No, all of them were basically manual boxes whose clutch and gearchange functions were carried out by motors (or compressed air on the bus).