Volvo dual- clutch automatic

Hi folks - to add a bit of fuel to the auto vs manual debate, I came across volvo's new ishift, which apparently is a dct-style auto for HVs. Now I've been a car guy my whole life, and I've never driven an auto box in a big rig before, but I know that DCTs are being used in high performance cars like porsche 911s and the BMW M series with great results. Reason being is they cut down drastically on shift times compared to a torque converter automatic, because they have the ability to spin up two sets of gears at the same time and then just switch from one clutch to the next during shifts. Using it in a big rig seems like it would be a neat feature. Here's a video they put up on youtube - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MR5iFgJBpYk

Anyway, just thought I'd share, and see if anyone has their 2 cents. And PS, I've been a lurker around here for the last couple weeks and it's been great to discover the truckers report community

 

Thanks everyone for chiming in! king Q - hadn't heard of the i-torque before but seems like the same thing just the euro version. interesting how they market the two differently. I've also heard that among the autos it's either the i-shift or allison, i-shift being more popular for long-haul operations and allison for metro and buses

No question, just wanted to see if people had any thoughts on it. Some of mine were that you probably lose the torque multiplication you get with a TC auto. Also when they say "powershift" in the video, it would be crazy to think that on a friction-based system (the dual clutch), they can actually execute the shift with full power. Just thinking out loud because there's nothing like the satisfaction of rowing your own, but 5, 10 years down the line, it's hard to picture a world where autos haven't taken over. If the truck market plays out like the car market, this might end up being a game changer