semi autos are faster than standard transmissions, simple as that. a paddleshift car can get through the gears faster than a stick shift can do the same thing. virtualy all modern sports cars use paddleshift if ultimate performance is their goal.

I'm not debating that they're faster. What I'm saying is sports or high performance cars used to be bought by DRIVERS, who took the time to learn the techniques needed to drive their cars to their full potential. They didn't have to worry about wrecking the tranny by missing a shift because they DIDN'T miss shifts. They didn't need ABS or traction control, because they knew how to avoid those situations when possible and how to get out of them when not.

I guess I liken it to the difference between hot rodders from my generation and hot rodders of the newer generations. In my generation, you changed cams, ported & polished heads, indexed plugs, built carbs, etc - you learned WHAT makes more power and WHY it does. The newer generation? "I got me a 200hp chip!" Ask what the 4 strokes in an Otto-cycle engine are and you most likely won't get an answer, though, when 25 years ago every kid in high school shop class knew it as well as he knew the alphabet.

it takes lot more knowledge to understand and tinker with today's systems than with 1950s technology.

NH2112, our time has come and gone, never to be seen again. I can set the points on a 327 cu. in. Chevy V-8 by calibrated eyeball. But the skill is useless now.

Well, I'll go so far as to say it takes a different kind of knowledge, but not more knowledge. It's the same as with aircraft design, the guys who did the math on slide rules had learned different things than their CAD-using modern counterparts.

Right, but we're talking about maintainance and modifications here, and with car and aircraft there are simply so many more different systems to be aware of now and those systems tend to be more complex. Old cars are ridiculously easy to work on because of their simplicity, you basically only have to worry about purely straightfoward mechanical stuff.

Also you don't have to deal with the rapid degree of design change that we have today, it's not like it used to be where common engine, transmission or rear end designs could soldier on for decades with only detail changes, now it seems like everything gets either totally revamped or even replaced every decade.

I agree with you, but none of that is really relevant when we're talking about the market driving the change to semi-automatic transmissions. (Can we call these "assault trannies? ) I have abslutely no problem with that, it's the market working the way it's supposed to and I'm all for that. (Besides, it gives me something to #%&*$# about LOL) What I do kinda have a problem with is people who aren't purists or enthusiasts buying cars that were formerly bought mainly by purists or enthusiasts and then "dumbed down" with semi-auto or auto trannies. I just think that maybe driving a Ferrari or Lambo wasn't necassarily only about the top speed or handling, but also about the total immersion and concentration needed to drive it properly, but also the dedication needed to LEARN to drive it properly.

What's next - giving an aerobatics plane the same neutral stability of a Cub? So I hope that clarifies my argument somewhat.