Yodaisms

[IMBoring25]

Yes, the efficiency and performance loss is real. How measurable it is depends on how aggressive they are with the faux shifts. Mimicking a six- or seven-speed the way many of them do in flappy-paddle mode would bring fairly significant losses. Mimicking a 20- or 30-speed would be less significant. If they could convince people they miss the shift shock and not the change in engine note, they could accomplish that by pulling timing and the loss would be in the realm of the theoretical.

If they're jumping ratios at 4000 RPM, it might not affect the hypermilers or the speed demons much. Real-world economy for the typical consumer will suffer slightly, however.

[theholycow]

If they could convince people they miss the shift shock and not the change in engine note, they could accomplish that by pulling timing and the loss would be in the realm of the theoretical.

OTOH, if they could convince people they miss the change in engine note and not the shift shock, or at least fool them (which I suspect would be quite possible), they could just play with fake audio. It wouldn't be the first car, I can't remember which model but I recently read about a car that simulates engine noise through the stereo system (which sounded completely ludicrous to me) and VW has been known to transmit engine noise in to the cabin using a purpose-specific tuned acoustic pipe colloquially known as a "noise pipe". With fake noise I bet lots of people would totally fail to notice the CVT or would say "wow it shifts REALLY smooth!". Considering the way that so many modern gauges lie (most OEM coolant temperature gauges, for example), they might even consider faking it on the tach. I'd crap myself if they actually DID all this stuff, but I guess it's still better than actual faux-shifting.

[Rope-Pusher]

Not sure, but i thought the initial response to public not liking the CVT feel was to actually have the CVT run at a finite number of ratios, so they really ran up the revs at one pulley ratio, then jumped to another pulley ratio and ran the revs up again.

This sounds like something else now - like maybe a momentary blip to a higher ratio to drag the engine RPM down and then perhaps simultaneously letting the engine wind out and the pulleys slide back down to more ratio again. Maybe this is letting them break up the engine drone, but not hurt the fool smileage as much as actually running it at discrete ratios.

[Rope-Pusher]

Respect long, a leader you shall. Not so much a boss.


What's that you say Dieter...Rope-Pusher used to work for you? Well I remember him very well myself - about this big! Maybe if you weren't dieting all the time yours would grow big and strong like Rope's!

[tankinbeans]

I seem to recall commercials when Nissan released their first gen CVTs wherein some coffee drinking leper would hold a cup of coffee over his pants while the driver would give the car the beans. The tagline was something like, "Introducing the car that never shits."

Am I remembering correctly?

[Rope-Pusher]

^ Oh Yeah, the cars.....

The ForFour and ForTwo will go on sale in Europe starting in November. Daimler has no current plans to sell the ForFour in the United States because it isn't sure if there is a big enough market to warrant the cost of homologation.

The cars will be offered with either a 71-hp, 1.0-liter naturally aspirated gasoline engine or a 90-hp, 900cc turbocharged gasoline engine. Both are three-cylinder units. A few months after the market launch, an entry-level gasoline engine rated at 60 hp will extend the powertrain range. The Smarts also will offer either a five-speed manual transmission or a six-speed dual-clutch transmission.

The ForFour is the same width and height as the ForTwo but it is 137.4 inches long while the ForTwo is 105.9 inches long. The ForFour's rear seat backrests can be folded down to produce a cargo volume of up to 975 liters.

http://www.autonews.com/article/2014071 ... 9274467E4R

[tankinbeans]

I had no idea the Smart was even still around.

Aston should license it so they have another supermini in their stable with the Cygnet.

[Rope-Pusher]

I had no idea the Smart was even still around.

Aston should license it so they have another supermini in their stable with the Cygnet.

Smart's transmission was a problem in the US - it was an automated manual. That's like a dual-clutch, but with a big time lag to change gears. Both Automated manual and Dual Clutch can have crummy launch performance.

[ClutchDisc]

I had no idea the Smart was even still around.

Yea the Smart is still around.. I see them around here a decent amount. Just saw one today actually. I remember seeing it in I think it was the consumer guide for last year too.

[tankinbeans]

I had no idea the Smart was even still around.

Aston should license it so they have another supermini in their stable with the Cygnet.

Smart's transmission was a problem in the US - it was an automated manual. That's like a dual-clutch, but with a big time lag to change gears. Both Automated manual and Dual Clutch can have crummy launch performance.

A saleslady for Scion mentioned that all Smarts get shipped to Milwaukee for service during the warranty period. Not sure how much of that I believe since she was trying to talk my friend into an IQ. He and I looked at that thing and laughed, both remembering the sad dog James May tried to stuff in the back.

[Squint]

The tagline was something like, "Introducing the car that never shits."

Am I remembering correctly?

I doubt it.

I had no idea the Smart was even still around.

Yea the Smart is still around.. I see them around here a decent amount. Just saw one today actually. I remember seeing it in I think it was the consumer guide for last year too.

I see a decent number of Smart cars around town. They must sell at least a handful of them, though apparently Lex is getting on the small car train for at least a part of the population. I see a ton of Honda Fits, Ford Fiestas, Elantras, Smarts, and even a decent number of Fiat 500s.

Side note: for a non-manual tiny car, the iQ is actually kind of fun to drive. It's CVT is certainly better than the transmission in the Smart (older model, don't know about new one) because my brother-in-law had one and the thing shifted like a grandmother who has driven stick once 50 years ago.

[Rope-Pusher]

Hard it is, when Heroes get old.

[Rope-Pusher]

In Minivans, I will not ride!

Wagons Hoe!


Speaking of design trends, last week Kia revealed a teaser image of a concept it will have in Geneva. But apparently the company couldn’t wait for next month’s show and just released pictures of the new car, called the SPORTSPACE. As you can see it’s a large station wagon. Automakers are experimenting with all kinds of vehicle profiles trying to come up with a new look. So this makes us wonder? Are designers going to start experimenting with station wagon shapes to break out of the clutter? - Autoline Daily

[theholycow]

Is it going to be CAFE-rated for the truck fleet or the car fleet? That will tell us if they're actually going to be able to bring it to the market...

[tankinbeans]

Moist, that makes me. Want to drive it, I do.