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RE: Future BMWs : M3 and Z3 evol. French news

>From: damien@domain.elided (Mr VEYRET Damien)
>Date: Sat, 31 Aug 96 23:21:28 +0200
>Subject: Future BMWs : M3 and Z3 evol. French news
>
>Hi all,
>
>I just read the following in 2 french car's magazines :
>
>- - NEW sequential 6-speed gearbox for 97' Euro M3. You can use it in two
>  modes : auto (like others auto. cars) or Sport mode. In that case, you
>  only have to push (shift down) or pull (shift up) the lever, and THAT'S
>  IT. And you can do it while your accelerator pedal is still 'full 
open'.
>  It has some refinements like :
>  - automaticly shift to 1st gear when you stop
>  - you can shift from 5 to 2 for instance, if you do 3 impulses
>  - automatic double-declutching when you shift down
>
>  Technically, it uses hydraulic stuff (so, no more clutch pedal), and
>  needs 0.25 second for shifting.... Seems like perfect !

The trouble with the semi-automatics is that they're not any faster than a 
fully automatic, because of the power loss through the transmission, so if 
you were to drag race someone from a stoplight, you'd still get smoked, 
whether you shifted yourself or let the transmission do it.

I think SAAB has a transmission which is a manual with an automatic clutch 
which gets around this problem, since it's not an automatic transmission.