Another long car post, but, bear with me, typing all this stuff helps me decide what to do...
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Originally posted by Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)
also, I don't believe there's any torque converter on any of them. It's just a clutch, like on any stick shift. The A mode just does all the shifting for you.
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When I said "At least the torque converter's involvment in the shifts in the ['manual'] mode of an automatic makes it deleceleration and shifts under throttle smooth," I meant in a true automatic with a "manual" mode (one where you can have some input over shifts), like in most luxury automatics (including, the automatic available on (almost?) all BMWs.
Quote:
Originally posted by Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)
I'm curious to drive one to see if I share your disappointment.
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I'm curious, too. I may have to hit the message boards and arrange for another drive before I make a final decision. I thought that most of the things I read about the SMG on the message boards were pretty positive, and I can't believe that all those people were that off base. It may be that I drive with heavy throttle and, efficiency be damned, tend to stay in a gear high into the range of revolutions if I'm in a position where instant acceleration may be necessary, desirable or just enjoyable. But I can't imagine that most BMW enthusiast were that different. Maybe the low tire pressure and the rough ride made it worse. Admittedly, the SMG was fantastic over 25 MPH. But, shit, I live in Chicago, and the SMGs inability to engage the clutch to coast was really annoying. Do I have to go all the way down to neutral at every incidence of coasting in order to do so smoothly? That seems crazy, because the same car with the manual coasts smoothly in gear.
I also drove the S2000[1] and the SLK 320[2] in the interest of cross-shopping, but wasn't really that impressed with either one of them. I still want to drive the new Audi TT, but might have to do some work this week instead of spending all my time tes-driving cars and spending the next months' paychecks on them.
[1] Great, but it's true about it being all HP and no torque. Power is nice, but you can't spend all your time at 6500 RPM.
[2] The SLK 320 is way underpowered for a driver looking for a driver's car. I can't help but feel that Mercedes just wants to sell image and luxury these days. As long as Mercedes is the fantasy of rappers and porn stars, they'll succeed on the former, but they're already behind several other makes on the latter. And they certainly don't compete on price, performance or reliability. The cars do look fantastic on the outside, and the interior is very nice, but I think they lose the whole-package calculus for me unless you are in a mugh-higher price range ($80K+) or you value image way more than I do. Plus, I would keep my [current car] if I wanted to be treated poolr at a dealer.[3]
[3] I really tried to have an open mind, but I wasn't really happy with the way that I was treated at the Mercedes dealer. I'm a youngish looking guy, but I'm serious about dropping 50 large on a really nice car. I should not have to prove myself, or establish myself or any of that shit. I've done the exact same thing when I wanted to test drive a car ever since I was about 18. I've only driven cars I was serious about buying, and I've just called the dealer, asked for a salesperson and arranged for a test drive. The two BMW dealers I went to were fine about letting me drive an M3; Audi was good; even the Porsche people were fine about everything. The Mercedes dealer salespeople were pretty huffy and wanted to ask a lot of questions. I filled out a "prospective buyer" questionnaire and listed my income and gave them a business card, and then they warmed up. Regardless, it left a very bad taste in my mouth.
