Improved automatic transmissions have also had a big effect in allowing for performance in larger packages.
Some still have a difficult time accepting automatic transmissions, anti-lock brakes and cruise control.
FORBES: How Traditional Automakers Can Still Win Against Google's Driverless Car: Part 5
Among his requirements: always automatic transmissions, usually dark colors and sometimes fancy wheels and technology.
Several groups are trying to develop technology to produce low-cost automatic transmissions for emerging markets like China and India.
The company has six-speed automatic transmissions while competitors have up to 10 speeds.
Ultimately, the invisible, under-the-hood electronic architecture of the plug-in hybrid will become as commonplace as automatic transmissions and anti-lock brakes.
This kind of transmission uses a pulley system to simulate gears and is usually more efficient than traditional automatic transmissions.
Some manufacturers make smaller quad bikes with automatic transmissions for children.
Many automatic transmissions today have a "sport" setting that holds off on upshifts as long as possible and that keeps the gears engaged even when the driver takes his foot off the accelerator.
In simplistic terms, that user-friendly software did the same for logic engines what automatic transmissions, power steering and power brakes did to tame the internal combustion engine and launch the age of the automobile.
That fuel economy comes from sophisticated electronic fuel and spark controls, and computerized automatic transmissions teamed up with a very sophisticated engine that was designed using computer-automated design, machined using CNC milling, and assembled by robots.
The A3 three-door hatchback unveiled here (the U.S. will get a four-door sedan version before 2014) will offer a slew of different engines, both gas and diesel, as well as automatic and manual transmissions.
WSJ: At the Geneva Motor Show, the Promise and Perils of Sharing | Rumble Seat by Dan Neil
Likewise, dual-clutch transmissions behave like an automatic but deliver the fuel economy of a stick.
Two transmissions are available: a six-speed automatic and an eight-speed automatic made by Aisin, a Japanese parts supplier.
应用推荐