Fahrer

I am not sure but I believe the new Q7 is based on the new MLB platform ( A6, etc) while the new Bentley is base on the next generation Cayenne/Touareg?

newmoon

That exactly sums up the 2 main points of why Audi and Acura use torque converter automatics because it better matches the expectations of the typical American driver.

With a torque converter, you just stomp on the gas and it goes, and there is no worry about wear either.

With a dual-clutch, you have to deal with the computer slipping the clutch on every start off, which is not as smooth as a torque converter. You also have to worry about wearing out the clutch, especially with 'launch control' which basically dumps the clutch. In fact, I think Audi limits you to 200 launches on the S6 S-tronic because a clutch and transmission simply can't take this sort of abuse constantly.