Actually that is only part of it. Like Lux said the TIP has a torque converter that softens up the shifts a bit and saps alittle bit of power to the rear wheels anytime the gas peddle is pressed. They call this parasitic driveline loss and torque converters always suck more power between the crank and the rear wheels than the manuals. Another reason is the TIP weighs about 100lbs more than a manual(trust me check the weights in the owners manual).

"Hell, most people can't drive period"

That is certainly true for Kalifornians!

:p

Nobody has yet mentioned the little "superbutton" at the bottom of the throttle pedal on the tip. Its been my experience that if you floor it, the tip will downshift one gear. If you floor it extra and click the little button, then the tip will downshift two gears.

I also like the fact that after some lateral g's, the tip will maintain a low gear and not shift up. Sometimes I'm coming out of an offramp, nice and speedy, and the tip does not upshift like I expect it. It stays in low gear, as if the car is saying "Come on, buddy! Lets keep racing!!"

I've learned to be pretty good at managing the gears with my right foot, and also at initiating an aggressive driving program. It can be done.

Absolutely !
It's called the kickdown.
U can even go down 3 gears if needed, let(s say you're driving +/- 90 km/h in 5 you push to the bottom it will jump in 3, if you smash the "little button" it will go 2.
In fact it will allways give you the highest rpm possible .

Really nice indeed