Will we mourn the passing of real automatic trans?

[boundarylayer]

Originally Posted By: MolaKule
The CVT's are true Mush-O-Matics and until the internals are beefed up and produce faster shifting, no thanks.
They don't really shift discretely, they slide along thousands of possible mechanical ratio positions. The steel chains/belts used inside them are direct mechanical links, no mush, except when the torque convertor is used near idle in D position. Some people have said the CVT "motorboats" which is not correct, as that describes a temporary loss of power transfer efficiency during revving. Not the case for CVTs, and they didn't understand the engine was actually simply sliding ratios to get to higher power bands.

 

[hattaresguy]

I don't se CVT's being any more than a niche player. Electric drive trains are coming.

Its like arguing whats the best horse shoe to use in 1900 when the internal combustion engine was just coming on the scene.

 

[Eddie]

A real Auto like the Buick DYNAFLOW )

 

[Tzu]

The only transmission that I would mourn would be Toyota's Aisin 4 speed w/OD that is in our older Camry. By far the BEST transmission I have ever driven. It has never slipped, shifted wrong or acted strangely over the course of it's almost 300,000 miles. Fluid always stay red even with 75,000 mile change intervals. Whatever they did then, they built them great. GM's 4T65e wouldn't be missed in my world. With GM/Ford trucks possibly coming with a 8-10 speed transmission soon, it might feel like a CVT with so much shifting going on.
Personally, I would go with Honda's new CVT because I've read nothing but good things about it. My wife's Nissan Sentra feels weird when you first drive it, but 37mpg is pretty hard to argue with. I think there are no filters in them, just oil changes at specified mileages. If that is true, it seems like a durable, simple product.

 

[Pop_Rivit]

Originally Posted By: fdcg27

Will we mourn the passing of real automatic trans?


No. I have more far more important things to concern myself with.

 

[Rick in PA]

"They'll have to pry the shifter knob out of my cold dead hand!"
(There, I got that out of my system.)

I agree with this:
Originally Posted By: hattaresguy
I don't see CVT's being any more than a niche player. Electric drive trains are coming.

Its like arguing whats the best horse shoe to use in 1900 when the internal combustion engine was just coming on the scene.


I can see the changing reality. For my purposes, a plug-in hybrid would probably make sense. But I do enjoy the man-machine interaction a manual transmission supplies.

 

[NHGUY]

Rest assured,Chrysler will continue with 8 and 9 speed automatics for the forseeable future.

 

[fdcg27]

Originally Posted By: Pop_Rivit
Originally Posted By: fdcg27

Will we mourn the passing of real automatic trans?


No. I have more far more important things to concern myself with.


Apparently not, or you wouldn't have bothered to reply.

 

[Mr Nice]

I rented a 2014 Accord LX with a CVT and was pleasantly surprised how well the transmission performed.

 

[stickybuns]

Originally Posted By: Pop_Rivit
Originally Posted By: fdcg27

Will we mourn the passing of real automatic trans?


No. I have more far more important things to concern myself with.


Like write useless statements on bitog forums.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Originally Posted By: LT4 Vette
I rented a 2014 Accord LX with a CVT and was pleasantly surprised how well the transmission performed.


Exactly, and kind of the point here.

Some modern slushboxes are quite impressive, others are complete dogs.
Even sometimes the same slushbox in different cars.

Seems programming varies quite a bit...

 

[stickybuns]

Originally Posted By: Rick in PA
"They'll have to pry the shifter knob out of my cold dead hand!"
(There, I got that out of my system.)

I agree with this:
Originally Posted By: hattaresguy
I don't see CVT's being any more than a niche player. Electric drive trains are coming.

Its like arguing whats the best horse shoe to use in 1900 when the internal combustion engine was just coming on the scene.


I can see the changing reality. For my purposes, a plug-in hybrid would probably make sense. But I do enjoy the man-machine interaction a manual transmission supplies.


The current Honda Accord Hybrid has no transmission. Prius does, a simply CVT-planetary unit. Electric motors have plenty of torque at zero RPM, so no tranny is really needed for some systems.

 

[gregoron]

I do see CVTs replacing hydraulic auto transmissions in much the same way automatics replaced manuals. I also see DCTs being offered as the sporty versions.

I would only let go of my manual transmission when they offer sequential transmissions to the public, similar to F1 cars. No third pedal, but a button or paddle shifter for upshift/downshift to disengage and reengage the clutch (pressing disengages, releasing reengages). You have control of what RPM you release the clutch. Both hands are always at the wheel. You go up and down the gear ratios similar to motorbikes.

 

[asand1]

No, I will only mourn the immanent demise of the manual transmission. An AT might as well be a CVT, niether would be much fun IMHO, short of a built TH/TF/C* behind a V8 at the strip.

 

[sciphi]

Not really. CVT's are getting pretty good these days. And a DCT can make some pretty snappy shifts if programmed right. The only mourning I'll do is if we end up with poorly-programmed units and no aftermarket to reflash them for us.

Keep a few manuals around for us enthusiasts, though!

 

[supton]

I dunno; probably not, not once they get the longevity and torque handling up there. They already seem to have the wide gear ratio thing down. The rubber band effect may well be annoying, but long ago I figured out that, if they just made it so you couldn't hear the engine, then you wouldn't care. A bit more NVH reduction and maybe even I won't care about an engine racing up and down the rpm spectrum. [And as pointed out by Shannow in my thread about CVT wear rates, it may be even a good thing to have it not hold a steady ratio.]

I think I like manual transmission in a small light car. In a big boat like my truck... probably not. While I like the control I'm not sure it really fits with the overall driving experience.

 

[mcrn]

I really like the CVT in my Rogue. I would like to see CVT's as the normal auto....but I hope sticks never die....completely!

 

[d00df00d]

Completely agree with the MT love here. If it doesn't have a clutch pedal, I'm not interested unless I HAVE to have a non-MT car for some other reason.

The next best thing to a manual transmission -- by a country mile, but next nonetheless -- is a properly sorted electric car with only one gear. I'm pretty sure only Tesla is doing this right these days, but others will follow. No shifting at all, and no compromise to throttle response.

The next best thing to that for sporting applications is a DCT or quick-shifting automated manual; the next best thing for everything else is a CVT.

 

[Shannow]

I'm not a fan of Autos, having only owned a couple, but I do find the 4L60E in my Caprice very livable when left in the "sports" mode.

Have been a long term hater of CVTs, as, to quote a workmate, they feel and sound like a slipping clutch...didn't like tham.

Drove a Maxima recently, and they have tuned their CVT to have "gears" in sports auto, less so in normal auto, and moreso in "manual"...which to me has demonstrated that an innovative tuning of them CAN make them fun...IMO, when treated in this fashion, they make more sense than the dual clutch multi gear trannies.

I've always like the Prius drivetrain (not always necessarily to drive, but) due to the robust simplicity of same.

As of a couple weeks ago, I'm being swung towards CVTs, as albeit without torque multipliction off the line, they CAN be most things to most people...well people who don't need a clutch...and I still like a clutch.

 

[Kiwi_ME]

Originally Posted By: Shannow
I've always like the Prius drivetrain ... due to the robust simplicity of same.
Yes, it's very clever and amazingly simple yet doesn't really have a generic name ... yet. I would think you might be able to suggest one since it's in your area of expertise. Essentially buffers the engine from instantaneous road power demand, smoothing demand over a short period with the battery to keep the engine in it's most efficient BSFC.

It might be called it a variable speed transmission with power buffering using electronic power conversion.


Originally Posted By: andyd
When they make a CVT as durable as the Getrag 4HP22, maybe.

Perhaps not the best choice ... actually a ZF, one that would self-destruct if reved-up in neutral after being in a drive gear. Had one in my E32. A problem that first showed up during smog-cert testing.