Welcome
back my fellow learners, today’s blogs is for all my fellow gearheads out
there.
Today
we are going to look at the gear box or in some parts of the world also
referred to as the transmission.
The
manual gearbox or transmission has been around for eons, however, the latest
buzz is that the death knoll is tolling for this sadly overlooked but necessary
car part. We have all heard about the legendary Lamborghini, gossips is that
this car companies customers are choosing the e-gear semi-automatic
transmission, over its sister the standard triple pedal model. However, this
particular transmission is known not to be the best in the business. So it begs
the question of, “why would one of the most expensive cars in the world, use a substandard
gearbox”? Anyone with answers to that particular question feel free to add a
comment.
Ok,
back on course. There is an ongoing quiet argument on who exactly created the world’s
first ever operational automatic transmission. This arguments dates back as far
as the 1890’s.
Some
say that GM Hydramatic, which was first seen in 1939 was the first mass
produced automatic in the car industry.
Back
then things were much simpler compared to today’s technology. The standard
transmission had 4 gears, plus a reverse. Back then there was no park position,
people driving these vehicles first had to switch off their engines, then put
the car in reverse, thus ensuring their vehicles stability.
Although
the GM was a 4 speed gearbox, subsequent models came with a 2 and 3 speed, over
the years various other speeds were introduced, such as the overdrive setting
to make for better efficiency when driven correctly.
While basic transmission permitted a driver to choose and hold a lower gear when going up and down steep hills, their most defining character is that drivers no longer have the option of running through the gears. Some people like this as it not only saves on fuel consumption, but they no longer have to run through all the gears.
However,
if you are anything like me, who loves to go through all the gears, a manual
while being a safe and kind of eco-friendly car, is just too boring, no matter
what car it is in. My fellow gear heads will know what I mean when I say that
stomping on the gas pedal and hearing that engine scream when overtaking people
is the best sound ever.
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