Yo, Tony, where's da sample, Chip and Reichen and the Printer
 

If you have to ask . . .

Gangbangers in Honda Insights
 

Our Mini has a CVT. I forget what the acronym stands for, but basically it means "stick without the clutch." It's faster than traditional manual, because shhifting is electronically controlled instead of mechanically controlled. It's kind of fun sometimes, but basically, I tend to keep it in sport auto mode, on the rare occasions Mrs. Wonk lets me drive it.

Fleeting fame and more.
 

Goatee. But remember to keep it ultra-short, so it has that "I didn't get around to shaving this week" look.

Corno star hair
 

Dude, that is sooo Apollo Ohno in the last Olympics. Even HE has shaved it.

Gangbangers in Honda Insights
 

I think that you're thinking of Tiptronic/AutoStick type technology, where you have control over the shifting of an automatic transmission.

There is also SMG, which stands for sequential manual gearbox or something like that, where it's a true manual, but the computer does the clutching and you just use paddles or buttons to shift. This used to be mostly on exotics, like Ferraris, but now the M3 and some of the little Toyotas have it.

I tried to check edmunds.com to see what kind of transmissions the Mini offers, but it's down/slow, probably as a result of all the worm traffic on the internet today. Generally, though, a computer controlled automatic will still shift slower than a manual transmission driven by a good driver. There is also loss of torque from the use of a torque converter.

With an SMG, the shifting can be very fast if done well, but I hear than the Toyotas, in particular are very slow. The M3's SMG is supposed to be great (as are the $10k versions in lots of Ferraris that started it all), but I hear that it not very reliable and is directly related to many engine failures in early E46 M3s.

Edited to add some info.

Fleeting fame and more.
 

Goatee. So you can have that "I-didn't-get-around-to-growing-this-until-ten-years-too-late-geek" look.

Gangbangers in Honda Insights
 

2003 Mini CVT. Whoever posted the explanation of CVT yesterday apparently plagarised their elucidation.

Gangbangers in Honda Insights
 

No, the Mini does have a true CVT, with six pre-selected shift points. You would need quite the computer system to replace the preselection, but it's still continuously variable.

Corno star hair
 

But alas, Mr. Kiss has not. Will someone cc him on the memo? He isn't listening to me.

Yo, Tony, where's da sample, Chip and Reichen and the Printer
 

You're wasting your breath (or fingers as it were). And I don't know where the name Narcy came from when my name is Snarky. Probably a likelihood of confusion thing - so many people here would answer to Snarky.
But I will attest that he's a pretty good asshole. Good in the sense that his ability is high, not the good v. evil type of good.

Gangbangers in Honda Insights
 

The article says:

"When the road gets twisty, and you want to set up for a corner, slide the CVT's shift lever to the left, where six preset gear ratios are there for the taking; bang the stick forward for a downshift, back for an upshift. Response is instantaneous, though obviously not as satisfying as a proper matched-rev downshift in a car with a clutch."

If the ratios are preset at a certain level, what does the computer do when you cause an upshift or a downshift in that mode? Just gradually but quickly move the gearing so that it's in that ratio? Do you get a smooth transition to that ratio, then? That is very interesting. Seems like you would get the benefit of the CVT whenever you wanted it, but the fun of true manual control when you want that. Too bad it sounds like the CVT is only offered with the smaller engine.

Anyway, I stand corrected...

Gangbangers in Honda Insights
 

The article says:

"When the road gets twisty, and you want to set up for a corner, slide the CVT's shift lever to the left, where six preset gear ratios are there for the taking; bang the stick forward for a downshift, back for an upshift. Response is instantaneous, though obviously not as satisfying as a proper matched-rev downshift in a car with a clutch."

If the ratios are preset at a certain level, what does the computer do when you cause an upshift or a downshift in that mode? Just gradually but quickly move the gearing so that it's in that ratio? Do you get a smooth transition to that ratio, then? That is very interesting. Seems like you would get the benefit of the CVT whenever you wanted it, but the fun of true manual control when you want that. Too bad it sounds like the CVT is only offered with the smaller engine.

Anyway, I stand corrected...

Gangbangers in Dodge Stratuses
 

More evidence for the "TF is a man trapped in a woman's body" case.

Switching gears to the FB music club list, I got a sneak copy of the upcoming Belle & Sebastian album "Dear Catastrophe Waitress." So far so great. There's a song on here called "Piazza, New York Catcher," a happy little ditty from these Bizarro-World Scots. A sample:

How many nights of talking in hotel rooms can we take
How many nights of leaping 'round on pagan holidays
Elope with me in private and we'll set something ablaze
A trail for the devil to erase
San Francisco's calling us, the Giants and Mets will play
Piazza, New York catcher, are you straight or are you gay?
We hung about the stadium, we got no place to stay
We hung about the tenderloin, and tenderly you tell me
about the saddest book you ever read, it always makes you cry (etc etc.)

My weekend: Vegas followed by Belle & Sebastian concert Sunday night. I'm hoping for some up-tempo numbers so that I can stay awake after 48 hours of coke and strippers.

Yo, Tony, where's da sample, Chip and Reichen and the Printer
 

You are so sweet.


Narc

Corno star hair
 

Dear Mr. AbbaKiss,
Please see the attached picture of Fred Durst (which is not attached because I am jpeg challenged). Please note how stupid he looks and it gets worse as he gets older and try to look like the hip guy he used to be. See, this is sad. Please use the enclosed razor to modify your facial hair situation and next time you watch QESG, please note that NONE of the guys (gay or straight) is allowed facial hair because it is sooo Apollo Ohno from the last Olympics.

Yours truly,
Snarky