Posted on 3/1/2021
The first commercially produced automotive transmissions were simple manual gearboxes. In the early days of motoring, cars were not affordable for everyone. Roads weren’t suited for the high speeds that we drive at today, so cars simply weren’t built to travel that fast. A standard gearbox had one reverse gear and 2 forward gears. Like with modern manual gearboxes, the driver used a clutch pedal and shift lever to select gears. The clutch pedal disengages the motor input from the transmission, so that the gears are not forcibly turning as they mesh together. The shift lever, naturally, aligns the appropriate gear with the motor input. The perceived problem with these transmissions, though, was that it was inconvenient to have to shift manually. Apparently, it also required a fair amount of force. This made shifting a distraction from the road, and made it unappealing for women to ... read more