subject: The History Of Automatic Transmissions [print this page] The modern automatic transmission has a long and unique history. Just one kind of transmissions that eliminates the need for a driver to manually shift the gears of an automobile, this typical model has a number of pre-set gear ranges. These ranges are usually number and will be followed by a park setting that stops the transmission's output shaft, causing the car to stop and lock in place.
Some types of automatic transmissions are the continuous variable transmission and the semi-automatic transmission. These use a computer system that understands when to shift gears. Automatic transmissions apply torque converters rather than using a clutch to connect the gears to the engine.
A majority of the vehicles sold in the United States and Canada since the fifties have offered automatic transmissions. In Europe, those figure are much different as European drivers tend to prefer manual transmissions to the newer more convenient models. But on the other side of the world, in Asia, there has been a recent trend leaning toward the use of automatics.
In the Beginning
When the automatic transmission was first being developed, many of the parts that were to go into the transmission were already widely used throughout the growing field of mechanics. Even manual transmissions used many of the parts that would go into the automatic models. The infamous Ford Model T used transmission bands and planetary gears. Even before that, some of the parts were originally developed by German engineers for use in marine related operations.
Then in 1937 the semi-automatic transmission was developed. This is what GM has branded the Automatic Safety Transmission. This allowed less experienced drivers to feel confident and safe while operating an automobile. Into the forties Oldsmobile and Cadillac released their own versions of automobiles equipped with an Automatic Safety Transmission.
Fully Automatic
It wasn't until almost 1950 when Oldsmobile released a fully automatic transmission. After that these types of automobiles became the norm. It was safer and acceptable to drive one without being an expert. Parts used in the development of the fully automatic transmission where eventually used in the building of military tanks.
Suspension systems were modified to handle the change, and mufflers were also designed to handle the automatic transmission exhaust. It was the Hydro-Matic, built by Earl Thompson, which popularized the automatic transmission. In the 1990s, the Hydro-Matic was the basis of many hotrods and drag racers. The Hydro-Matic is the only automatic transmission used in Indy racing, with the development of the B and M Hydro. It was Bob Warner who first applied the automatic transmission to the building of Ford motor vehicles in the fifties.
At this time, a number of manufacturers began to jump on board. Mercedes made an automatic in the early sixties. Jaguar also made one in the sixties using a BorgWarner transmission. BorgWarner is an American automotive industry that supplied Jaguar with a four-speed automatic transmission.
In the Future
Such an advancement in mechanics would eventually lead us into new unimaginable directions of automotive developments. The hybrid car is just one example of a great step forward in the automobile's somewhat young but vast history.
