[DeTomaso] NPC: Dan Neil's latest report excerpts
Sean Korb
spkorb at gmail.com
Sun Sep 7 19:56:55 EDT 2014
It's hard to imagine someone complaining about how much they enjoyed cable
operated timing advance and it's getting hard to imagine people missing a
manual choke or even feathering a carburettor at a light so it won't
stall... but I know we exist ;)
sean
On Sun, Sep 7, 2014 at 7:27 PM, Bill Lewis <lotus0005 at hotmail.com> wrote:
> Not to negate the article's content, nor your thought, I wonder what
> other times in history has this scenario occurred?
> From: cengles at cox.net
> To: detomaso at poca.com
> Date: Sun, 7 Sep 2014 18:16:36 -0500
> Subject: [DeTomaso] NPC: Dan Neil's latest report excerpts
> Dear Forum,
>
>
>
>
>
> These excerpts are from Dan Neils car article in the WSJ
> from Sept 6th about the Porsche 911.
>
>
>
>
>
> Standard transmissions in sports cars are going the way
> of the moa. Ferrari doesnt sell one anymore, and neither does Lamborghini.
> Porsche and a few other auto makers (GM, Ford, Fiat-Chrysler) offer them as
> atavistic tokens of their performance heritage, bending over backward to
> appeal to the old, grouchy purists, but its a bit silly and all over the
> map. The bat-guano fast Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat (707 hp/10.8 seconds
> in the 1/4 mile) has an optional eight-speed automatic transmission.
> Might as
> well say TorqueFlite on it.
>
>
>
>
>
> The 911 buyers other option is a seven-speed
> dual-clutch transmission, the fabulously named Porsche Doppelkupplung, or
> PDK, which essentially automates the function of a clutch pedal.
>
>
>
>
>
> Around your average road racing course, a
> PDK-equipped 911 of any stripe will embarrass its manually shifted twin.
>
>
>
>
>
> Functionally, the manual transmission, be it seven gears
> or 70, the stick shift as Buz and Tod would say, is obsolete in sports
> cars. Yes, right? Were all agreed on that? Automated clutching=faster,
> better.
>
>
>
>
>
> And can we not also agree that its a kind of madness to
> hang so lossy a thing as a manual gearbox on so rigorously optimized an
> engine as the 911s: naturally aspirated 3.4 liters, in the classic
> horizontally opposed six-cylinder configuration, four cams, with phased
> timing and lift on the intake and exhaust valves, direct injection, 12.5:1
> compression ratio, dry sump lubrication and a brain of the purest silicon.
> Nominal output is 350 hp at 7,400 rpm and 287 lb-ft of torque.
>
>
>
> To pair such a mill with a manual transmission is
> crippling.
>
>
>
> The 911 with a stick accelerates from 0 to 60 in 4.6
> seconds; with PDK, that number is as low as 4.2 seconds. A difference of
> four tenths officially! If you were a German transmission engineer and you
> were four-tenths of a second slower getting to the coffee pot in the
> morning
> they would bin you.
>
>
>
>
>
> And yet there it is: I want, I would only have, the
> seven
> speed manual transmission. First, because those few tenths at 100%
> throttle
> are not actually that important to me and I, personally, would never track
> my daily driver. Second, because Porsches seven speed shifter is turned
> out so beautifully, with lustrous aluminum and taut leather gusset in the
> center console, almost steampunk in its elegant antiquation. Third, its a
> mechanical marvel: The weight, throw and uptake of the clutch pedal and
> frictionless linkages, the gate-homing precision of the shifter, all
> impeccable, all to the sound of an upscale lumber mill.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> To feather the clutch lightly up a hill, to rev
> impetuously and dump the clutch when the floodlights hit. Stop thief!
> Youve stolen our hearts.
>
>
>
>
>
> But its mostly because when youre good at something---a
> language, an instrument, or in my limited case, heel-and-toe
> downshifting----theres joy in doing it. A couple of mornings I caught
> myself skipping out to the car.
>
>
>
>
>
> So there you have it. Automotive steampunks prefer
> manual transmissions. I am a steampunk.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Atavistically yours, Chuck
> Engles
>
>
> _______________________________________________ Detomaso Forum Managed
> by POCA DeTomaso mailing list DeTomaso at poca.com
> http://poca.com/mailman/listinfo/detomaso_poca.com
>
> _______________________________________________
>
> Detomaso Forum Managed by POCA
>
> DeTomaso mailing list
> DeTomaso at poca.com
> http://poca.com/mailman/listinfo/detomaso_poca.com
>
>
--
Sean Korb spkorb at spkorb.org http://www.spkorb.org
'65,'68 Mustangs,'68 Cougar,'78 R100/7,'60 Metro,'59 A35,'71 Pantera #1382
"The more you drive, the less intelligent you get" --Miller
"Computers are useless. They can only give you answers." -P. Picasso
-------------- next part --------------
It's hard to imagine someone complaining about how much they enjoyed
cable operated timing advance and it's getting hard to imagine people
missing a manual choke or even feathering a carburettor at a light so
it won't stall... but I know we exist ;)
sean
On Sun, Sep 7, 2014 at 7:27 PM, Bill Lewis <[1]lotus0005 at hotmail.com>
wrote:
A A Not to negate the article's content, nor your thought, I wonder
what
A A other times in history has this scenario occurred?
A A From: [2]cengles at cox.net
A A To: [3]detomaso at poca.com
A A Date: Sun, 7 Sep 2014 18:16:36 -0500
A A Subject: [DeTomaso] NPC: Dan Neil's latest report excerpts
Dear Forum,
A A A A A A A A A These excerpts are from Dan Neils car
article in the WSJ
from Sept 6th about the Porsche 911.
A A A A A A A A A A Standard transmissions in sports cars
are going the way
of the moa.A Ferrari doesnt sell one anymore, and neither does
Lamborghini.
Porsche and a few other auto makers (GM, Ford, Fiat-Chrysler) offer
them as
atavistic tokens of their performance heritage, bending over
backward to
appeal to the old, grouchy purists, but its a bit silly and all over
the
map.A The bat-guano fast Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat (707 hp/10.8
seconds
in theA 1/4 mile) has an optional eight-speed automatic
transmission.A Might as
well say TorqueFlite on it.
A A A A A A A A A A The 911 buyers other option is a
seven-speed
dual-clutch transmission, the fabulously named Porsche
Doppelkupplung, or
PDK, which essentially automates the function of a clutch pedal.
A A A A A A A A A A A A Around your average road racing
course, a
PDK-equipped 911 of any stripe will embarrass its manually shifted
twin.
A A A A A A A A A A Functionally, the manual transmission,
be it seven gears
or 70, the stick shift as Buz and Tod would say, is obsolete in
sports
cars.A Yes, right?A Were all agreed on that?A Automated
clutching=faster,
better.
A A A A A A A A A And can we not also agree that its a kind
of madness to
hang so lossy a thing as a manual gearbox on so rigorously optimized
an
engine as the 911s: naturally aspirated 3.4 liters, in the classic
horizontally opposedA six-cylinder configuration, four cams, with
phased
timing and lift on the intake and exhaust valves, direct injection,
12.5:1
compression ratio, dry sump lubrication and a brain of the purest
silicon.
Nominal output is 350 hp at 7,400 rpm and 287 lb-ft of torque.
A A A A A A A A A To pair such a mill with a manual
transmission is
crippling.
A A A A A A A A A A The 911 with a stick accelerates from
0 to 60 in 4.6
seconds; with PDK, that number is as low as 4.2 seconds.A A
difference of
four tenths officially!A If you were a German transmission engineer
and you
were four-tenths of a second slower getting to the coffee pot in the
morning
they would bin you.
A A A A A A A A A A And yet there it is: I want, I would
only have, the seven
speed manual transmission.A First, because those few tenths at 100%
throttle
are not actually that important to me and I, personally, would never
track
my daily driver.A Second, because Porsches seven speed shifter is
turned
out so beautifully, with lustrous aluminum and taut leather gusset
in the
center console, almost steampunk in its elegant antiquation.A
Third, its a
mechanical marvel: The weight, throw and uptake of the clutch pedal
and
frictionless linkages, the gate-homing precision of the shifter, all
impeccable, all to the sound of an upscale lumber mill.
A A A A A A A A A A A To feather the clutch lightly up a
hill, to rev
impetuously and dump the clutch when the floodlights hit.A Stop
thief!
Youve stolen our hearts.
A A A A A A A A A But its mostly because when youre good at
something---a
language, an instrument, or in my limited case, heel-and-toe
downshifting----theres joy in doing it.A A couple of mornings I
caught
myself skipping out to the car.
A A A A A A A A A A A So there you have it.A
A Automotive steampunks prefer
manual transmissions.A A I am a steampunk.
A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A
Atavistically yours,A Chuck
Engles
A A _______________________________________________ Detomaso Forum
Managed
A A by POCA DeTomaso mailing list [4]DeTomaso at poca.com
A A [5]http://poca.com/mailman/listinfo/detomaso_poca.com
_______________________________________________
Detomaso Forum Managed by POCA
DeTomaso mailing list
[6]DeTomaso at poca.com
[7]http://poca.com/mailman/listinfo/detomaso_poca.com
--
Sean Korb [8]spkorb at spkorb.org [9]http://www.spkorb.org
'65,'68 Mustangs,'68 Cougar,'78 R100/7,'60 Metro,'59 A35,'71 Pantera
#1382
"The more you drive, the less intelligent you get" --Miller
"Computers are useless.A They can only give you answers." -P. Picasso
References
1. mailto:lotus0005 at hotmail.com
2. mailto:cengles at cox.net
3. mailto:detomaso at poca.com
4. mailto:DeTomaso at poca.com
5. http://poca.com/mailman/listinfo/detomaso_poca.com
6. mailto:DeTomaso at poca.com
7. http://poca.com/mailman/listinfo/detomaso_poca.com
8. mailto:spkorb at spkorb.org
9. http://www.spkorb.org/
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