^^ All very good points. Also, I want to add that I never understood the "Acura MT is the greatest" or "BMW MT is so rubbery" opinions you see posted here from time to time -- even see that
DenverJayhawk has that opinion about the Acura, and he's obviously a man of good taste and judgment, since he drives a 330i.
I disagree. I guess I need to spend more time with the Acura MT to appreciate it, but I test drove the 2006 TL with a 6MT and it didn't feel like anything special. FWIW, neither did the 6MT on the G35 or VW Jetta GLI or GTI or Mazdaspeed 6 or other cars I drove. None of them were "bad" but none were particularly memorable -- well, I should add that the MT on the Mazda 3 I tested was notably more rubbery than the MT on the other cars.
OTOH, when you drive a Mazda Miata, you immediately notice that the transmission feels great. I suspect the same could be said for the S2000, but I've never driven one.
The Acura TL 6MT was better than average, just like the BMW 6MT is better than average. I wouldn't say the Acura MT felt any better than the BMW.