Automatic Transmissions

I want to post a piece on automatic transmissions. To start, I have to admit I'm a staunch advocate of manual gearboxes, I always felt that you have better control over your car when you can put the car in the gear you want it to be, without having to let a computer select it for you. I learned to drive on a 5spd Chevy cavalier and a 5 speed Ford Explorer and my first car was a Chevy Cavalier with a 5spd manual (you can see my earlier post about that).

It seems every other car I get has an automatic transmission and to be honest I really only liked the one in my Sunfire. My Contour had terrible gearing, my Camry had terrible gearing and my WRX has awful gearing. The common thread in these is that they were all 4 speed electronic transmissions and in my opinion killed the performance and fuel economy of the car.

When I was researching Toyota Celicas and deciding if I would go for the auto or manual gearbox I did learn that the automatic actually got better mileage due to its gearing. The final gear was pretty long and held the engine at lower RPM on the freeway. It did however blunt the performance of the 140hp engine, adding a second or more to the quarter mile capability. But it taught me about how important gearing is. Sometimes I wonder if the mods I did on my '01 Celica GT could have pushed me over the 40mpg mark that I achieved on my 5 spd...

Anyway, I have to say that as much as I don't like the slush boxes I have driven some vehicles with a 6spd auto which is starting to change my mind (or at least lessen the ill feelings towards them). Last summer we rented a 2010 Camaro with an automatic and I have to say that it wasn't all that bad. The 6 forward gears kept the engine doing its thing and I never felt like it was dogging. I was proud of the 26+ mpg I got (combined that is) so from an efficiency standpoint I didn't feel like I missed out on anything there. Recently I've driven a 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe and a 2011 Hyundai Sonata, both with 6 spd auto boxes and I'm impressed. Hyundai has such a short 1st gear in those things (4.2 ratio) that off the line you never feel like the engine is sluggish. On the freeway the final gear is very long and keeps the engine below 3000 rpm which is nice.

I think the improved gearing in 6spd automatics is both helping fuel economy as well as acceleration (Sonata gets 35+ freeway and 0-60 in 8 sec) so I will say this is a step in the right direction. When I compare this to my 4EAT in my WRX I am left feeling disappointed by the inefficient gearing that Subaru offers in such a balanced car. I took some guys on a test drive of a 2007 WRX with a manual transmission and the acceleration on that felt just perfect. Gearing was nice, but then I wondered what a 6 spd would feel like on my car...

So thank you auto industry for making improvements in efficiency and performance, I can say I've moved from being a 'hater' to accepting and enjoying auto boxes in some cases (Lexus IS300) so continue to make improvements in gearing and tuning because I appreciate the good products I see today!

-Jason