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

[Sorry if you get two of these - my EMail server is acting 
weirdly...]

On  2 Sep 96 at 20:15, [email protected] wrote: 
> From: Jonathan Forbes <[email protected]>
> Date: Mon, 2 Sep 1996 14:23:10 -0700
> Subject: RE: Future BMWs : M3 and Z3 evol. French news

[SNIP - 6 speed sequential for '97 M3]

> 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.
The fact is, AFAIK, that this sequential gearbox too is a manual with 
a hydraulic mechanism to change gears up-down, so you don' t have the 
typical power loss. It can go into full auto or semi auto, but those 
are only modes for the transmission brain. The actual gearbox is like 
the normal 6 speed. I have come to think of it, after seeing 
extensive documentation, as one step beyond the SAAB gearbox above 
metioned (this is normal - we' re talking BMWs after all :).

Just my 5 lit.

        Regards,
		[email protected]

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