The ZF-8HP shifts so fast, it has even pushed out higher end DCTs in certain applications.
you aren't beating it

but, you know when "slushbox" comes out, you are dealing with a level of emotional investment that won't be dissuaded by facts,

Hard metrics don't bear that out.

In the trucking industry, automated/automatic transmission vehicles are associated with better safety records.
Drive has both hands on the wheel, and a mind that isn't thinking about finding the next gear.

Most every commercial vehicle application below the top-size class 8 truck ("semi trucks" in the US) has gone to automatic transmissions.

In class 8 trucks, the "automated" transmission has taken over. "automated" meaning a traditional gears, a traditional friction based clutch, but controlled by a robot

even in class 8 trucks you can get a full on traditional automatic (torque-converter, planetary gear sets, etc). They last forever, but the up-front cost in a lot. They are more of a niche for large trucks with abusive stop/start cycles like construction vehicles and heavy dump trucks and the like.

With lock-up torque converters, automatics even hold up on the highway as far as MPG goes

yup, hamstrung by their own idealism

Some people just want to log in, see what's trending, see what lady gaga had for lunch, troll a few people who disagree with them, and log out.

I want an app where I can do that, and I'll even take the indignity of an add or two, just don't violate my "no Elon musk" policy.

The mastodon experience is just too disjointed and isolating.

Counter.social has promise, but they should probably ease up on the whole "no algorithm" "no trends" things.

So basically, I believe you.... are an asshole
you are pontificating about a scene you aren't a part of, in a city you don't live near

Feel free to drive around midtown atlanta or buckhead on a night where this is a big event, as the bars, start to close, and tell me how wrong I am

maybe it does, you can love your dead downtown all you want. The issue is you are making proclamations about things you've never experienced, in a town you don't live in, and calling the folks who have experienced them, and the folks who have collected actually data about them, liars, for reasons...

"big" = "bid"

Indeed they did, and bad on them.

But to pretend this approach can be applied to all complex deals that the .gov has to undertake with massive, consolidated industries, without effectively destroying those industries is also a fantasy.

And yes, donald trump is a fascist piece of shit.

If he got boeing to give us this plane for free, that would still be the case.

Because complex things like aircraft are not like fixing your sink..

At some point people are simply not going to big on complex projects, especially one's that rely on developing/creating unknown technologies and materials as part of the project.

I am not saying waste, fraud, abuse, and general incompetence isn't a part of the procurement system, because it very much is. and this sucks

But good luck getting anyone to give a firm fixed price for something like the stealth bomber a decade a head of time, when whole fields of tech need to be created along the way.

Yes, that is exactly what I am saying, when hotlanta parties, midnight traffic jams do happen
sorry your city is so dead and boring.

Atlanta has two major universities right in the down town, and a fairly vibrant night life.

I don't know about houston.

Low-level engineers

Always the fault of some low-level engineers

even if that is the case, it will not always be the case.

even at that have a attainable, performant self driving system that operates on the major interstate highways, well, that's still something

I'm sure the engineers working on this have never even considered this, you should forward your concerns

Tesla gets most of the pub, but the supercruise solution is a conservative solution, and its gotten favorable assessments

Another argument is most US-ian families have more than one vehicle.
It is entirely possible for 1, (i.e., 50%)of the vehicles in a household to be an ICE vehicle and the other 1 to be an electric.
My personal anecdote is we have one nicer vehicle that we take on trips, and another vehicle that rarely travels more than 50-60 miles from home.
That second use case is perfect for an electric, and isn't impacted by the "well, what if I want to drive 800 miles in a day stopping only to get gas and empty my piss bottle? checkmate libtard!" use case that so many seem to be obsessed with.
when that vehicle croaks, I am seriously going to consider electric.

There is also the possibility of simply renting a longer legged vehicle if and when you need it.