As most of you know, there is a lot of interest in the car enthusiast world surrounding the "saving of the manual". I can't deny that shifting gears in a manual provides a level of driver involvement that I simply don't get with my A8 Z06/07. But...........wait a minute..........perhaps.........just perhaps..........there is a time and place where a similar amount of satisfaction can be gained from listening to the seamless shifts of the A8? I say "listening" because the shifts are so quick and so smooth that they are imperceptible in terms of "lurching" etc. I was pulling out of my employee parking lot yesterday on the snow and ice as the A8 shifted from 1st to 2nd to 3rd maintaining traction for me through all the gears, while I marveled at how I would never have been able to do that in a manual. I smiled and felt a great deal of satisfaction at that moment with my choice in transmission. I'm still disappointed with the responsiveness of the paddle shifters, but when it comes to situations such as the one I described, or when you simply want to drink your coffee and have one hand free to hold your "to go mug", yes.............I do believe you can find satisfaction in an automatic............I never thought I'd say that!!!!!!!!
