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Comment by TomMarius | Hacker News Reader

You can get better 0 to 60 time with manual.

Automatics are faster.

Cammisa, Jason. "Here's what's really killing the manual transmission." Road & Track. March 10, 2014. (April 10, 2015) http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a6308/whats-really-k...

Lachnit, Carroll. "Five Myths About Stick Shifts: Manual vs Automatic Transmissions." Edmunds. Sept. 26, 2013. (April 10, 2015) http://www.edmunds.com/fuel-economy/five-myths-about-stick-s...

If you're not driving a stick, eating paleo, and listening to your music on vinyl with a 100% analog mastering process, then you're doing it wrong.

OK, but can stop doing cross-fit?

I can't tell if this is sarcastic or not.

It should be completely obvious that machines can be made to do things quicker, better, and more reliably than humans.

So why are Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Skoda, Volkswagen and such reporting slower zero to sixty times on automatic transmissions?

Just did a quick check on Mercedes' German website, tried to find some models that are still offered with manuals, and got this:

B160d - faster with automatic

B180 - faster with automatic

B200 - faster with automatic

C180 - slower with automatic

C200 - faster with automatic

C220d - faster with automatic

CLA180d - same

CLA180 - faster with automatic

CLA200 - faster with automatic

E200 - faster with automatic

I'm sorry, but you are wrong for at least one of the manufacturers you listed. I only found one Mercedes model where they reported a slower 0-100km/h time for the version with the automatic transmission.

I'm pretty sure the numbers for the other manufacturers are similar. Automatic transmissions have simply surpassed manuals. Yay, technology!

Did a quick check on Audi's German website:

https://www.audi.de/de/brand/de/neuwagen/a6/a6-limousine.htm...

The A6 2.0 TDI accelerates faster with an automatic transmission (8.2s vs. 8.4s), and is more fuel efficient (4.4l/km vs 4.5l/km)

They are? Not in the US:

BMW 340i: Auto 4.8s, Manual 4.9s http://www.bmwusa.com/Standard/Content/Vehicles/2017/3/340iS...

BMW M3: DCT 3.9s, Manual 4.1s http://www.bmwusa.com/Standard/Content/Vehicles/2017/M/M3Sed...

C&D review of the VW Golf R: "The manual loses to the automatic Golf R against the stopwatch. The 0.7-second deficit from zero to 60 mph, which takes 5.2 seconds, is almost fully attributable to the two shifts required to reach 60" http://www.caranddriver.com/volkswagen/golf-r#eztoc8578403_0...

I couldn't find a manual Mercedes on their website, Skoda isn't for sale here, and I couldn't find 0-60 numbers on VW's website so I quoted an automotive review instead.

The general consensus I've seen is that automatic transmission cars are faster than manual transmission cars 0-60.

The Golf R isn't really a fair comparison as it's a dual clutch, not a traditional automatic, and more importantly, it gets a (quite aggressive) launch control while the manual doesn't.

My argument was that machines can do simple things better than humans, the Golf R automatic transmission is a machine that does shifting better than a human, and you are complaining that the comparison is unfair because the machine is too good at what it does?!?

Come on.

I'm just saying it's not apples and apples... the launch control helps the time a lot more than the DSG does.

Spot-checked BMW as well:

http://www.bmw.de/de/neufahrzeuge/3er/limousine/2015/technis...

Innerorts in l/100 km: 5,2 [5,0] / 4,7 [4,6]

Außerorts in l/100 km: 3,8 [3,6] / 3,4 [3,3]

Kombiniert in l/100 km: 4,3 [4,1] / 3,9 [3,8]

Beschleunigung 0-100 km/h in s: 7,9 [7,8]

Numbers in brackets are with automatic transmission, and it outperforms the manual transmission in both fuel efficiency and acceleration.

Not gonna do Skoda and Volkswagen, feel free to prove me wrong though!

Seems like automatic transmissions have really evolved over years. I was wrong.

Certainly not. A modern DCT or even a regular torque converter (such as the ubiquitous ZF 8-Speed) will be faster to 60 than a manual with even the best driver by several tenths.

That's true. A good automatic transmission will be slightly faster. However I also get his point, as most of the last-gen cars with automatic transmission were slightly slower than their manual counterparts.

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