In very simple terms,

Manual = manual, with clutch and manually-operated clutch pedal

Auto = no clutch, uses hydraulic torque converter instead (a manual car doesn't have this)

AMT = exactly the same as manual but imagine you have a robot automating the clutch pedal for you

That's it.

The AMT in the Savvy uses the same technology as BMW's SMG, Ferrari's F1, Lamborghini's E-Gear and Alfa's Selespeed. Some Audis use a system called DSG, which is an AMT but it comes with two clutches (gives you the smoothness of an auto but the effciency of a manual. Very heavy though!).

It is totally different from the automatic gearbox found in any Mercedes (including the SLR!), Toyota, Honda or most other manufacturers, which use straight auto gearboxes (not manual) with a torque converter. Even Porsche's Tiptronic is an auto box, not AMT.

AMT is much better than auto in terms of efficiency. For those who say AMT is useless, all modern Rally and F1 cars use AMT (though of course more advanced).

It has been proven time and time again that the same driver can lap an AMT car faster around any circuit than the manual version of the same car (for example, the BMW M3, or the Ferrari 360), even when the weight and gearing is exactly the same.

But I still prefer manual though - more in touch with the mechanics of the car and more "fun".

AMT gives you the same degree of control, expect that you cannot shortshift (i.e. go from 2 to 4 or 3 to 5). Technically the gearbox is capable of shortshifting with no problem, but the implementation in production cars only goes up or down by one step so in practice you cannot do it.

This post has been edited by DeaDLocK: Sep 10 2006, 02:42 PM