[dr Dunkel]

I can clearly see the benefit of more gears for the manufacturers who have very thirsty engines in their range, notably Lexus, since this is a great way to reduce the consumption.

[Tarek]

Originally Posted by Merc1

Now I know why the LS came out with 19 speakers, the S-Class only has 14!

LS has 10 airbags! It has both driver and front passenger knee airbags, something our beloved German cars don't have for both the driver and front seat passenger. Gulp.

M

SLR has knee bags

[Merc1]

Forgot about the SLR. It is the only Benz I can think of that has both a knee bag for the driver and passenger. The SLK has one for the driver.

M

[coolraoul]

*FANBOY mode ON*
Lexus surely needs knee bags because it has hard plastic in the bottom of the dash, or a poorly engineered safety concept. MB doesn't need that, only in the SLR because of a lack of space...
*FANBOY mode OFF*

(The W204 can have knee bags on some markets I think.)

I remeber some Japanese car, maybe the Toyota Century, with Airbags in the back of the front seats for the rear passengers. PWND Lexus!

[warot]

I see a benefit to these gearboxes. It's not like you are constantly manually shifting so to the driver it's definitely not as obvious.

So it is smoother and consumes less? This is perfect for the 7er and A8. How much it benefits, doesn't really matter... how many features on these top end models seem totally useless to you? But because it's the best of the best, it gets it. Plus it'll probably trickle down to lower models too

[coolraoul]

Not sure if it's really lowering the consumption. Furthermore it's heavier, more expensive to repair if problem...

Thing is: is it a childish piss contest or a real technical improvement?

[warot]

Originally Posted by coolraoul

Not sure if it's really lowering the consumption. Furthermore it's heavier, more expensive to repair if problem...

Thing is: is it a childish piss contest or a real technical improvement?

It will be just because the engine should run at a lower RPM.
I understand heavier (although who knows) and more expensive is an issue, but if it's a flagship model, then it's not as big of a problem if you ask me. I dont see it anyway being a pissing contest

[bum-man]

Having 8 cogs is nothing more than a marketing gimmick. I remember an article came out when the 7G was first introduced stating that they went with 7 gears instead of 8 or 9 because it was the best balance between efficiency and performance.

[Tarek]

Originally Posted by Merc1

Forgot about the SLR. It is the only Benz I can think of that has both a knee bag for the driver and passenger. The SLK has one for the driver.

M

U see our beloved MB introduced knee bags since production started in 03,Alfa Romeo offers knee bags as standard in 159 which is good

[Sunny]

Originally Posted by bum-man

Having 8 cogs is nothing more than a marketing gimmick. I remember an article came out when the 7G was first introduced stating that they went with 7 gears instead of 8 or 9 because it was the best balance between efficiency and performance.

I am sure something similar was uttered when the first 4, 5 and 6 speed gearboxes came about and I am sure something similar will be said when the first 9, 10, 11... speed gearboxes happen.