TECHNOLOGY WEBPAGE
automatic cars!
what is an automatic car?
an automatic car is an automobile with an automatic transmission that doesn't
require a driver to shift gears manually. transmissions, also known as gearboxes, help to direct the
rotational force and speed of a car. making automatic transmissions switch gear ratios as the vehicle moves.
an automatic transmission uses sensors that allow it to shift gears at the
appropriate time by using the internal oil pressure to keep the car moving.
automatic cars
history of automatic transmission
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.
the first hydraulic transmission was invented by brazilian engineers fernando lehly lemos and josé braz araripe in 1932.
general motors purchased the prototype and developed the transmission into the hydra-matic transmission. this
transmission was mass-produced in 1940, changing the course of the automobile industry. during the second world
war, general motors made tanks and other military equipment with the new automatic hydraulic transmission.
by 1948, buick introduced the first hydraulic transmission with a torque converter. they called this transmission the dynaflow.
automatic transmission
pros vs. cons
in automatic transmission shift indicator system, there is a display which shows gear indicators clearly
such as park, drive, neutral, and reverse along with a few numbers. meaning the driver simply has to
put the car in drive and it automatically coordinates among the throttle, clutch, and gears. that way the driver
can pay more attention to the road.
also, when driving an automatic car, the driver just needs to focus on the road and is
not distracted by the stick shift with its extra components. it's easier to control
the automatic car than other types of car in some certain driving conditions such as climbing
up a hill or slow moving traffic.
people who are interested in the feeling of vehicle control don't prefer driving an automatic car because they
rarely use the gear stick during the ride because the torque converter will help drivers push the car forward.
when moving by an automatic car, it is more difficult for a driver to overtake or pass other drivers in the same
direction because it does not allow the driver to purposely choose a lower gear to boost engine power.
more pros vs. cons
