Semi Auto?

[Petronas]

Well me and my friend have been arguing about this for some time now and I wanna know, Which is better.

A Semi-Auto (Auto Gearbox with manual overide, non-clutch)
Or
A Manual gearbox without the clutch (I think its called Direct Shift Gearbox)

(Both flappy paddle or regular gearing)

What are the positives and negatives between both?

[Captiva_Blue]

The following statements are my opinion only (with a little bit of parroting from car mags thrown in for good measure) and should not be taken as gospel. If you disagree with me.. thats ok, you're just confused and I'll make you see the light sooner or later :D

Semi Auto
Positives:
1. Doesn't require much effort to drive.
2. Depending on the model it may be pretty fast shifting (think AMG Mercedes).. not much else
Negatives:
1. Will likely have higher drivetrain KW loss than a manual (almost all autos will have this problem due to the use of a torque converter)
2. Most don't hold the selected gear but will upshift/downshift at preset limits so whats the point (not the case with AMG Mercedes boxes and one or two others).
3. Your friends will call you a lazy old fart for driving an auto.

Clutchless Manual (bit of a misnomer that.. it still does have a clutch..or two)
Positives:
1. Most of them give very fast shift times (ie the new F430 "F1" shift is faster in all acceleration tests than the manual)
2. The double cluch manuals have good shift times and very smooth shifts.
3. It will make even the crappiest driver seem like a Schumacher style hero.
Negatives:
1. The really good ones (Ferrari, Maserati et al) cost an absolute fortune.
2. The cheaper ones are pretty crap for performance and are more for show/gimmick value (Alfa Romeo selespeed, Toyota MRS, Smart Roadster)

If you can afford one, a good auto-clutch manual will make your car a hell of a lot faster and give you delusions of F1 grandeur that are more than reasonable. An auto with a sequential shift gate is just a marketing hook for those over 40 who missed out on their chance to become racing drivers and who like to pretend they are going faster by shifting the box themselves..