I do agree that having a hydraulic (or cable)-clutch car eliminates the ECU from a critical path (power to wheels), but there are plenty of electronic-ized manu

I do agree that having a hydraulic (or cable)-clutch car eliminates the ECU from a critical path (power to wheels), but there are plenty of electronic-ized manuals. There are all sorts of advanced DSG / dual-clutched transmissions in many newer cars, but even some older cars like the MR2 and Smart cars have a http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrohydraulic_manual_transmission http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrohydraulic_manual_transmi... : quite literally a manual transmission where the clutch has been actuated electronically.