This was true decades ago when the dominant automatic transmission was torque-converter junk. This hasn't been the case for some time now, though. The modern automatic transmission (e.g, Porsche's PDK, or any the DCTs, or even the ZF8) will win every time.
Driving a manual is pretty much only for feel or technique at this point, there's no real argument otherwise.
"The old Model A had a spark advance you could manipulate. I don't know why they got rid of it. Well, that's your Detroit smarties. The hand choke too. That's gone. Been gone." - Charles Portis, The Dog of the South, 1979
When I was young an dumb I drove a car with a dead starter to work and back for a week. I'd bump start it by pushing it up to the crown of the street.
I think a classic automatic transmission needs hydraulic pressure to engage the bands. And since the gear pump is on the input shaft side it doesn't run when the car is pushed or towed.
> Maybe I'm wrong, but I thought "automatic transmission" refers to one with a torque converter, and DCT is its own thing.
AT is "the car changes gears".
Sometimes a distinction is made between AMT and others because AMT is kinda shit, but both DCT and torque are AT.
Also modern torque converters have lock-up clutches, meaning once they've switched gear they've got the same direct-coupling efficiency as a DCT. The ZF8 mentioned by Klonoar is a torque converter.
>The ZF8 mentioned by Klonoar is a torque converter.
Ha, you're right! I don't have the energy to go edit my parent comment but hopefully it's clear (or at least, now) that I meant old school vs modern AT transmissions.
They're lumped together under "automatic transmission" insofar as the industry goes, however yes - the DCT is very different under the hood.
In this case, though, an automatic transmission is - for all intents and purposes - a transmission that does not require the driver to handle shifting at all. The DCT fits in this category.
Well, no - when it comes to the modern manual transmission, we're now mostly discussing these kinds of cars. The manual is rare (and moreso by the year) in just about every other segment.
Driving a manual is pretty much only for feel or technique at this point, there's no real argument otherwise.