The diversity in today's transmissions is finally bringing in a golden age... except for manual transmission fans (though still the most economical option, automatics have grossly improved with all of these new technologies).<p>* Hybrids are largely "Power Split Devices" (Toyota / Ford / etc. etc.) which use a planetary gearset to kinda-sorta make a CVT-like approach.<p>* CVTs with belts and/or cones are all available, to varying qualities.<p>* Dry DCTs have created sub-100ms shifts in automatic transmissions<p>* ZF8 (wet-clutch planetary gear / torque-converter traditional automatic) has sub 200ms shifts (~150ms or so for the typical ZF-8). Just old tech but done exceptionally well today.
Too few people these days understand the delicious sensation you get when coming round a bend, dropping the clutch, shifting gears, and feeling the whoosh of power that results from a mechanical interaction between your body and a machine.
Wet. Dry have issues due to heat management and failing seals that end up slathering the clutch in lubricants. It boggles my mind that an engineer would choose dry. I think the idea was to reduce costs. In Ford's case it resulted in a fairly nasty class action law suit.
Pretty sure Ford's "PowerShift" fiasco soured everyone on dry DCTs. I'm not aware of any that are currently used in light duty passenger vehicles
FYSA, manuals can come in wet and dry clutch arrangements. Most manual cars/trucks use dry clutches outside the transmission but most modern motorcycles use a "wet" clutch with the entire transmission/clutch bathed in the engine oil. Doing so saves weight/complexity and keeps everything more rigid. This is also why you can smell a burning clutch plate on a car but not on a motorcycle. But if you ever hear a Ducati motorcycle that sounds odd at idle, sounding like it is broken, that sound may be because Ducati is one of the few major brands that used external "dry" clutches.
For those lamenting the loss of manual transmissions in cars, have you tried motorcycling? Motorcycling: for when you want to beat a Lambo on a $19k motorcycle in a quarter mile race :)<p>But seriously, they are a great second vehicle to have, or even main vehicle depending on where you live. They are simpler than cars and you can work on them using basic hand tools easily enough. They are cheap and good on gas. And they are just really really fun.
I remember my first wet clutch Yamaha motorcycle… and the first time I put regular engine oil in it.<p>Made for a fun time of getting nowhere pretty quickly.