[suaveflooder]

Originally Posted by The359

See, those are not automatics. You're confusing the terminology.

* Manual - You have full control of what gear you are in, and can go to any gear at any time you want. You also have control over the clutch. This is a traditional setup with a clutch pedal and H-pattern.

* Semiautomatic - You have some control of what gear you are in, such that it is sequence. A computer controls your clutch. Various forms exist, such as Dual Clutch Gearbox (Volkswagen DSG, Porsche PDK, etc.), Electrohydraulic Gearbox (BMW SMG, Audi R-Tronic, Lamborghini e-gear, etc.), and various racing sequential gearboxes.

* Manumatic - You have some control of what gear you are in, such that it is in sequence and you are in a computer mode that allows driver input. When in fully automatic mode, you have no control over the gear and the computer controls everything. There is no clutch as the transmission is handled by a hydraulic fluid, which is in turn controlled by a computer. This system is usually seen with the name Tiptronic or some other sort of -tronic name.

* Automatic - You can have some control of what gear you are in only by limiting the transmission to certain low gears (1st, 2nd, Overdrive, etc.). When in normal Drive, you have no control over the gear you are in. Again, there is no clutch as the transmission is handled by hydraulic fluid, which is in turn controlled by the computer.

A Formula One car has a semi-automatic gearbox. It is superior to a true manual because computers and materials have advanced enough that it is quicker to shift gears this way than to have the driver do it. However, Formula One cars do still have a basic clutch on the steering wheel for launching from a standstill, due to the ban on launch control and the need for the driver to better control the start. Almost all modern racing cars have semiautomatic transmissions because of the reliability and speed at which they can shift.

So the FRS/BRZ's are not automatics? Also, what most people consider an "automatic" is something that can be put in an "automatic" mode. Most of the transmissions listed can do that. So I hardly "confused" terminology. I simply used what most people would consider an automatic. You can get technical all you want.

This was always a "fun" debate on M3forums "Technically", an SMG isn't an automatic, but it sure as hell can be driven like one