Comments on: Aston Martin Vantage gets paddle shifting

By: Veda

Veda — Sat, 30 Sep 2006 11:42:17 +0000

1c3d0g, F1 style shifters excel in one thing and that is speed. Read gtaste’s comment above and tell me if it’s superior over the competition.

By: 1c3d0g

1c3d0g — Sat, 30 Sep 2006 00:14:25 +0000

I’m amazed, Veda. The new shifter hasn’t been released to the market yet, but you’ve somehow determined with your expertise that it’s “inferior” to the competition. Unless, of course, you were one of the test drivers for Aston Martin…

By: Veda

Veda — Fri, 29 Sep 2006 18:47:17 +0000

doublearon21, come on there’s a reason they took it that long to release the option. Ford just hasn’t gotten the technology yet and they’re really pushing it to get it out the door asap resulting in a much inferior product than the other brands’ offerings. At that price they really need to appeal to the GT crowd and they really have to offer one right now.

By: doublearon21

doublearon21 — Fri, 29 Sep 2006 16:04:26 +0000

Brendino, you are more right than you know, while at the Lamborghini of Troy (by Detroit) track day I was fortunate enough to meat Valentino Balboni, the lead test driver for Lambo for the last 25 years, and get a ride around the track in a Gallardo with him driving, well he prefers a sequential gearbox over a manual because of its abilities to keep you more focused on the track and drive the car at its most extreme limits, so saying that you’re not a true driving enthusiest if you’re not driving a manaul is totally false. And 200ms is pathetic, most people with any skill on a stick can shift faster than that.

By: Aston_

Aston_ — Fri, 29 Sep 2006 12:11:38 +0000

Its as close as they wanna get to manual stick driving by making it slllllloooooooooooooow……………

By: Thomas

Thomas — Fri, 29 Sep 2006 06:22:38 +0000

And from someone who drives an Acura EL.

By: Brendino

Brendino — Fri, 29 Sep 2006 05:19:10 +0000

Acura_el, what a baseless, arrogant, close-minded thing to say. Seriously.
Elitism isn’t necessary here.

By: Thomas

Thomas — Fri, 29 Sep 2006 05:07:10 +0000

We’ve had this manual vs. DSG/Sportshift/SMG argument far too many times.

It boils down to what you like… and it DOESN’T mean you’re lame because you happen to like an F1-style shifter in your Ferrari… fer Christ sakes.

By: gtaste

gtaste — Fri, 29 Sep 2006 03:08:21 +0000

200ms?? SMGII in E46 M3 is ~80ms, SMGIII in E60 M5 is ~70ms. DSG is around 2ms. Too slow……

By: Veda

Veda — Fri, 29 Sep 2006 02:00:37 +0000

Commodus, is the point of buying one of these for personal pleasure beating the stick or to outperform others by shifting faster? Personally I’d take the version that’s the fastest not to mention the convenience.

By: Commodus

Commodus — Fri, 29 Sep 2006 01:25:28 +0000

This is paddle shifting. It’s not an automatic in the strictest sense.

Besides, arguing that you ‘need’ a pure manual to love driving is like arguing that you need a bolt-action rifle to enjoy the shooting range. There’s a satisfying feel to it, but it’s not necessarily any better than newer technology.

By: Commodus

Commodus — Thu, 28 Sep 2006 23:18:45 +0000

It almost sounds like they’re using an equivalent to DSG. However it’s made, this is the Aston Martin I’d want! You’re as likely to be caught in city traffic with this car as blasting down the countryside, so arguments that the car is “purer” with stick shifting don’t hold water. I’d rather have a car that won’t drive me crazy downtown than something that gives me slightly more throttle control.