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      03-14-2011, 03:00 PM   #119
swamp2
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Drives: E92 M3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mkoesel View Post
And such strictness is great, but for better or for worse it happens that today's coloquial term "automatic" is the de-facto way to refer to a transmission when casually talking about a car. The interface is what was important to casual people, so that's the term that stuck. And, yes, it also just so happens that this is often a misnomer since a lot of transmissions have both a manual mode and automatic mode.
I disagree. I think there is much more use among journalists and enthusiasts of automated manual or dual clutch for dual clutch units. For web sites like Autotrade absolutely for the masses you probably will find DCTs listed at automatics.

Quote:
Originally Posted by mkoesel View Post
I don't care what we call it, but if we define some term to mean "a transmisison that has both manual and automatic operation" then MDCT and Steptronic are both going to fit.
The problem with terms like Steptronic is that it is simply a mostly aribitray, concocted word without much intrinsic meaning. You can contrast that against dual clutch transmission, which describes a great deal about the unit. Also, technically speaking, any old school automatic with a lever and button on the tranny tunnel also has a manual mode... However, I think anyone will agree that calling that an automated manual is absurd.
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