Car Transmissions 101, Courtesy of LaFontaine Cadillac
Amongst the many Cadillac parts in our luxury automobiles, the transmission is one of the most important. And while this component has gotten more and more sophisticated over the years, its purpose is still the same: to move power from a car’s engine to its wheels and facilitate forward or reverse motion.
Manual Transmission
What makes a manual transmission unique is the clutch pedal. This third pedal, positioned to the left of the brake and the gas pedal, is pressed down to allow for the shifting of gears. The shifting is performed via a ‘stick shift’, which the driver operates with his right hand.
As the driver shifts into higher and higher gears, the car is able to go faster. There was a time when new Cadillac cars could be ordered with a manual gearbox, but nowadays this transmission is a lot harder to find.
Automatic Transmission
The automatic transmission is by far the most prevalent in today’s automobiles. Despite the fact that this transmission is a complex construction that require expert Cadillac service knowledge, it is still impressively simple to operate.
With an automatic gearbox, a car is set in motion when the driver moves the shifter to ‘drive’ and presses the gas pedal. As the driver accelerates, the transmission automatically shifts through the car’s gears.
Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT)
A CVT works similar to an automatic transmission, but with much different engineering. Instead of the gear system inherent to the cars at our Cadillac dealership, a CVT utilizes a system of belts and pulleys to generate a wide range of ‘gear ratios’. Depending on the speed and direction (straight or turning) of the car, an onboard computer determines which combination of belts is needed for optimum performance.
CVTs have been around for several decades, but only in the last 20 years or so have they become mainstream. The biggest advantage they offer is higher gas mileage, which is why lots of compact/commuter cars use them.
Visit Our Cadillac Dealership Today
Every luxury automobile at LaFontaine Cadillac integrates an advanced transmission. These finely tuned systems play a big role in the silky-smooth ride offered by every Cadillac car. Stop in today for a test drive and more information on the transmissions that make our models go.