
17 Automatic transmission control
systems
17.1 THE FULLY AUTOMATIC GEARBOX Advantages of the fully automatic transmission
General background
The manually operated combination of gearbox and
clutch has posed two problems during its long history
of development. First, as already mentioned, the act of
changing gears called for a considerable nicety of timing
on the part of the early motorist. Eventually this prob-
lem was to all intents and purposes overcome by the
invention of the synchromesh gear. Second, the friction
clutch by its very nature has always demanded a certain
delicacy of operation, especially when starting the
vehicle from rest