...and yet, autmatic transmissiosn still make absolutely no sense to me.
I wouldn't trust myself to disassemble a manual tranny ("Man, there sure are a lot of extra bolts in this thing."), but at least I grasp their function reasonably well. #lexusls460
@Paul Y. don't drive too fast.: A buddy of mine has an auto-tranny drag TA that runs mid 8's. We converse very well about all sorts of arcane stuff, such as his technique for measuring the specific gravity of various race fuels (yes, really!) ...until it starts talking about his transmission. Then my eyes glaze over as he talks about the proper differential value between the inlet pressure and the override pressure ...or something like that. I think his transmission is made of prefamulated amulite. #lexusls460
I work for the American subsidiary of the company that makes this (we make other Toyota A/Ts) and this thing is sweet! The case is a one piece casting (bell housing, case, tail housing) and probably the coolest part of the unit #lexusls460
Ha! Karma is a bitch. [/cranky old man who loves manual transmission cars]. Seriously, though, when I drove the MK5 GTI for the first time, the DSG totally freaked out and went into some kind of limp mode. Whether that was a statement on VAG quality or DSG itself, I'm not sure, but it did result in a five-speed Mazda3 for my garage.
I wonder how they'll figure out a way to blame the drivers. That's what VW does. "You know, these transmissions are pretty robust, but if you leave them in auto mode like a sissy little girl, they wear out quicker. I hope you've learned your lesson. Here's your receipt. As you can see, shop incidentals came to over $30 because we had to eat so many Twix while fixing your car. How am I going to explain my fat ass to my wife? I'm going to blame you, that's how. Have a nice day."
@Ash78: And you wonder why they never were able to sell many Phaetons. Many said if they would have just branded it the Phaeton and left off the VW badge, they would have sold like hot cakes. Alas, no rich guy wants to hear it from the service center.
@maximum-sienna: A great car, but very poorly executed. Allegedly the whole thing arose because Piech was jealous of M-B and BMW execs showing up for meetings in their Q-ships. Sure, he could have used an Audi A8, but he wanted something with the core brand's logo on it.
Oh by the way gentleman. Never leave home in your race/project car without some mechanix and latex gloves, some basic tools and a good fire extinguisher. He should take 10 lashes for that. His gorgous RARE turbo Colt could have burned to the ground. I actually plan on having "Cold Fire" fire freeze solution when at the track.
10/23/09
I wouldn't trust myself to disassemble a manual tranny ("Man, there sure are a lot of extra bolts in this thing."), but at least I grasp their function reasonably well. #lexusls460
10/23/09
10/23/09
..."BLACK GOOOOLD!" #lexusls460
10/23/09
There is no way humans could design and build this in mass-production numbers.
I can see Aamco having conniption fits about rebuilding this.
Double-A...honk, honk, oh-my-gawd. #lexusls460
10/23/09
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10/23/09
But seriously, does the car do anything but shift constantly? #lexusls460
10/23/09
It's probably turning out like a Bing commercial for porno creeps. #lexusls460
08/20/09
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08/20/09
It's the driver's fault anyway for paying attention to meaningless idiot lights.
08/20/09
It's one of the best "automatics", though, so that's something.
08/20/09
08/20/09
Sometimes, aye!
08/20/09
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...as a scapegoat
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07/22/09