From a technical standpoint, an automatic transmission keeps the engine within it's optimal power range. Torque converters have a "stall speed" specification. This alows the engine to spin up before the converter starts to lock. I think this is better than poping the clutch on a free-reving engine because the engine RPM doesn't drop or climb while shifting through the gears as much as with a manual trans. I am not a racer, but there must be very good reason some race car drivers switched to automatic. That reason is quicker shifting. I personally don't like to shift a manual transmission just driving through stop-and-go traffic when an automatic is engineered to shift much more efficiently than I can.
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