Jeez, left leg is meant to be "parked", the car changes transmission automatically. There's no clutch .. grrr

Where's the fun (and difficulty) in driving?

@congruent said
Jeez, left leg is meant to be "parked", the car changes transmission automatically. There's no clutch .. grrr

Where's the fun (and difficulty) in driving?

@the-gravedigger said
I would never go back to a manual.
Few fast cars come with a manual now. They are an anachronism.

I prefer a manual gearbox on a motorbike to an automatic although the latter is, in some ways, probably more practical when trundling around a city.

@congruent said
Jeez, left leg is meant to be "parked", the car changes transmission automatically. There's no clutch .. grrr

Where's the fun (and difficulty) in driving?

@great-big-stees said
I think maybe General Motors.🤔👍

@ponderable said
Actually Alfred Horner Munro of Regina, Sasketchwan, Canada (U.S. Patent 1613525 filed Nov. 2nd 1923, canadian version filed march 3rd 1922m, but actually I only have the US version as pdf which I can send to you if necessary)

@great-big-stees said
I knew that but I believe the thread title asked not who invented the automatic transmission but who came up with the automatic “car”.🤔👍😉

@ponderable said
Ok, sorry for "mansplaining"

History of Automatic Transmission
According to Auto Repair San Antonio, just over 100 years ago, manual transmissions were the only option for drivers until the Sturtevant brothers of Boston attempted the first automatic transmission in 1904. Weights and bands operated their two-speed "horseless carriage" gearbox. The automatic transmission they created was often unreliable since weights often flew apart, causing the transmission to fail.

An essential development that helped inventors arrive at an automatic transmission was the planetary transmission used in a vehicle's gearbox. And the first used planetary transmission was in the Wilson-Pilcher. The transmission built between 1900 and 1907 operated using two epicyclic gear trains that allowed four forward gears to be chosen by adjusting a single gear change lever.

Alfred Horner Munro, a Canadian steam engineer, designed the first automatic transmission in 1921 and patented the transmission in 1923. He created the automatic transmission with four forward gears and no reverse or parking gears, and he used air pressure instead of hydraulic fluid. General Motors used the transmission in the Oldsmobile, Buick, and Cadillac between 1937 and 1938.

@fmf said
I prefer a manual gearbox on a motorbike to an automatic although the latter is, in some ways, probably more practical when trundling around a city.

Not sure I like automatics but I like the tech on new cars though :- YouTube

@david-burton said
only ever had 1 auto and I dont think the previous owner had looked after the box,so it put me off,so far I have owned 14 transits,1 boxer,cars 3 mazda,3 v dubs 1 citroen,3 nissan,2 honda,1 kia,1 toyota & 1 citroen....best car both hondas a tie.

@divegeester said
Honda make excellent cars; we’ve had and will probably buy a third this year some time.

@congruent said
Which Honda? They are one of the most stolen cars.