lol mate - Yeah thats the fella, except they do it without the flappy pedals on the steering wheel which is what I will be considering.
Forgive me for stating the obvious but for the benefit of anyone else who might be remotely interested
Basically a gearstick you push back or forward to go up and down gears or full auto for when you feel lazzy or stuck in traffic. So bit of a half way house thing over a manual.
The SMG
its supposed to be very good on the E46 and reacts within milliseconds of asking it to change gears which is alleged to give you the same driver involement as a manual without all that faffing around with a heavy clutch pedal. Could be argued a step forward in technology, or just a step closer to pipe and slippers.!
When the time comes if not before would probably take you up on that offer cheers mate.