PJL

I was just noticing that people often refer to the manual transmission as the "5-speed" but at least for the A4, both the automatic (tiptronic) and the manual are 5-speeds. And of course there are manual transmissions with 6-speeds too. Just thought I'd mention that.. A pet-peeve I guess. <p>Peter<br>

klidge

We weren't confused up till now.

Ray Calvo

No confusion to me; &quot;5-speed&quot; = manual tranny 5-speed; &quot;wimp stick&quot; = Tipronic 5-speed (no offense)

stevebrown

but i guess that was your intention regardless of the "no offense" text...<p>Let me say this: I'll bite enough to say that when enormous horsepower & fast ETs are on the line, autos beat sticks all day long. In our application, no let me rephrase that, in MY application, the tip has won me over as a useful alternative to a manual. <p>for my commute:<br>"stick" = lobster-like, clutch-tropic left leg<br>"tip" = perfect solution<p>For the record, I'd prefer a sports car (which the A4 is not) with a manual transmission. I much prefer a commuter car with sports car characteristics with an auto.<p>steve

dAve4

nt.

Ray Calvo

I'm lucky in that my commutes don't require a lot of stop-&-go driving; if they did, might have considered the Tip. I've driven them, and agree that for about 70% of driving, are prob. faster. However, they don't give me the same pleasure as maneuvering a shifter in combo with a clutch - nothing beats the satisfaction of making a nice heel-&-toe downshift and not even feel the car lurch. It's just the way I like a car.<p>What I would REALLY like to see is a road-going version of the F1 electronic shifters. I think Lambo is putting one in their cars, and BMW is working on one, but it's still a couple of years off for more "grunt level" vehicles. System like this would be a major incentive to switch from present manual tranny/clutch system.<p>Take care.