"Mr.E" > wrote in message
...
> On Mon, 11 Apr 2011 20:33:09 -0500, "hls" > wrote:

> The new Ford 6 speed auto has no torque converter. It uses a computer
> applied clutch to start and shifts between two clutch driven gear
> trains that change the ratios- one for odd, one for even gears.
> I wonder how the clutch life will be.

I imagine it will be very good. It doesn't use the sort of clutches used by
a manual. It uses stacked clutch packs that are hydraulically activated. I
have a farm tractor with this sort of transmission. After 20 years of hard
use it is still just fine. And remember "traditional" automatics also
include clutches that are activated hydraulically. No reason to think the
clutches in the Fiesta "automatic" will be more failure prone than those.

Ed