Only today I heard there's actually Automatic Transmission & Semi-Auto Transmission.

But seriously, what makes them differ with each other?

Obviously both Fully Auto & Semi-Auto has the function of letting the gear shift itself, but what most people claim Semi-Auto to be different from fully auto is that we can choose to up/down shift the gears manually.

So I suppose new cars like Camry (with + - gear shift on knob) & Civics (Paddle shift) can seen as semi-auto (But in Wikipedia they are still considered Automatics).

But, what about the traditional Auto gears found in older or less luxury cars (Using Up-to-down stick type P->R->N->D4->D3->D2->D1)? Even though they don't offer the + & - function, but we can still choose to change the gears manually by dropping em down to D2 or D1 and back up to D4, the only difference is modern transmission uses + & - instead of switching from D1 to D4. So What Exactly are there any difference that can categorize them as FULLY AUTO & SEMI-AUTO? Is it just a marketing scheme, or is there indeed some big difference between them?

1. fully manual
2. semi manual : manual gearbox with shift buttons, like M3, ferrari
3. fully auto
4. semi auto: auto gearbox with shift buttons, like Honda Civic 2.0
5. cvt , like Honda City
6. dual clutch manual , like Nissan GTR, Audi TT

did i miss anything ?

This post has been edited by sootienann: Jan 30 2008, 04:40 PM

Regarding Fully Auto, I can still shift to what ever gears I want just by sliding the gear from D4 down to D3, D2, D1, so how can it be called fully auto? It works the same way as Semi Auto just semi auto uses + & -.

Also does fully auto and semi auto cars nowadays use both Torque Converter and Clutch?

I'm getting more and more confused.

Point number 4, just because there is shift buttons does not make the gearbox semi-auto. The definition of semi-auto has been blurred by brochures citing the wrong term.

1. Manual Gearbox - With manual gearbox with clutch and have to do manual shifting. Simple.

2. Automatic Gearbox - Fully automatic gearbox without clutch and have the option to do automatic shift or pedal/button shifting.

3. Semi-Auto - Manual gearbox with clutch and have electronic shifting with the option to do automatic shifts or pedal/button shifting.

The manual/auto/semi-auto terms refer to the gearbox and not the shifting action.

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Added on January 30, 2008, 4:55 pmRefer to my previous posting. It has nothing to do with your shifting. Just because you can manually shift does not change the type of gearbox.

Manual/Auto/Semi-auto refers to gearbox type and not the method of shifting.

This post has been edited by sleepwalker: Jan 30 2008, 04:55 PM

Correct, I myself just finally found a website with detailed explanation:

Honda Civic Transmission

I was so confused because Transmissions like CVT can sometimes be categorized as Semi-Auto, and I was told that modern automatics are using both Torque Converter & Clutch instead of solely Torque Converters.

Since cars like Honda Civic are still using Torque Converters, they will still have some power loss, and the Paddles shift acts more like a convenience/sporty feel but is actually still the same as the bland Top-To-Bottom Type Transmissions we find in Kancil & Wiras.

Finally got these cleared up! It is indeed just some marketing scheme.

But even the Lexus IS250, they are still Automatics right?

whatabout proton savvy's shifting system?