...the feedback from buyers of luxury cars and family vehicles has not always been so positive. Criticisms have centered on drivability and launch performance, particularly in North America, where drivers are accustomed to the extreme smoothness of planetary automatics and CVTs.
Intent on combining the DCT’s fuel efficiency with a conventional automatic’s ultra-smooth driving characteristics, GM engineers presented a paper at this year’s SAE Congress proposing a seven-speed DCT working behind a *****ulic torque converter in place of the conventional flywheel. As well as improving launch quality, the DCTC arrangement would also counter the other perceived drawbacks of DCT − its lack of sustained creep ability on grades, and its launch shudder and limited thermal capacity.