I’ve written a lot about my favorite new transmission technology – dual clutch transmissions. Well before they came out, and still soldiering on, are Continuously Variable Transmissions. Whereas DCT deliver performance first and economy second, CVT’s deliver economy first. CVT’s allow give your car an infinite number of gear ratios, not just 4, 5 or 6 like most girls. This allows the engine to always run at the most economical gear ratio all the time. CVT’s have been in cars for quite a while, but the next generation of CVT’s have started to arrive. Nissan outlined their improved CVT in the following video:

Old Shift Buttons

New Shift Paddles

Porsche is known for some fantastic engineering. They invented synchros, which vastly improved the drivability of manual transmissions, now all cars have them. They’ve pushed the boundaries of flat-six engines, with naturally-aspirated engines producing over 400 horsepower. Since 2009, the majority of their cars have dual-clutch transmission and direct injection engines – technology that both increase performance AND increase fuel economy – usually a tradeoff and not a combination.

However, when introducing the PDK transmission, they choose a very unfortunately interface for the driver. They used steering-wheel mounted buttons, similar to their age-old tiptronic system introduced in the 90′s. Their competitors like Ferrari and Lamborghini use column mounted paddles instead – like F1 cars. By the way, Honda also has column mounted shifters – but on their cheapest car! The Honda Fit! Porsche’s button system is made worse by having the buttons push to shift up, and pull to shift down – counter to what the body naturally wants to do. While most drivers will get used to such system, it’s a surprising mistep from a company known for engineering and performance design.

With the launch of the 2010 Porsche Turbo, they have finally introduced paddle shifters. Right to shift up, left to shift down. However, it is an additional cost option on an already $150,000 car. *sigh*

What is Honda Canada thinking? The 2009 Honda Fit is an excellent subcompact. It improves on the previous model by making it roomier and more fuel efficient. However in the weirdest country-oriented marketing move ever, they removed the paddle shitters from the automatic versions.

Here we have a car known for it’s sporty handling and performace and Honda Canada decides to remove one of it’s coveted features. To add insult to injury the feature remains in the US versions.