Power shift.The Future For a new breed of automatic transmissions--manual gearboxes that shift themselves--is bright according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the Folks at Germany's Getrag (Untergruppenbach, Germany; www.getrag.cie). According to their Figures, the market For automatic transmissions will continue to grow, especially in Asia and Europe. Though Asia will rely on traditional automatic transmissions and continuously variable transmissions (CVTs), Europe is expected to increasingly move toward dual-clutch transmission (DCT (Discrete Cosine Transform) An algorithm that is widely used for data compression. Similar to Fast Fourier Transform, DCT converts data (pixels, waveforms, etc.) into sets of frequencies. The first frequencies in the set are the most meaningful; the latter, the least. ) For their shiftless shift·less adj. 1. a. Lacking ambition or purpose; lazy: a shiftless student. b. Characterized by a lack of ambition or energy: studied in a shiftless way. drivers. DCTs have two input shafts--one For odd numbered gears and one For even numbered gears--and a single output shaft. Gears are pre-selected up or down the range and the clutches on each input shaft are progressively engaged and disengaged dis·en·gage v. dis·en·gaged, dis·en·gag·ing, dis·en·gag·es v.tr. 1. To release from something that holds fast, connects, or entangles. See Synonyms at extricate. 2. to seamlessly transfer power. "There will be a market From DCTs across the model range, From minicars to SUVs," says Bernd Eckl, executive v.p. of the Getrag Innovations Center, "which parallels what we Find today with conventional automatics. The same is not true with CVTs, especially in the upper segments or in Europe." European drivers question the durability of CVT CVT Continuously Variable Transmission (automotive, sport, utility & hybrid vehicles) CVT Center for Victims of Torture CVT Continuing Vocational Training CVT Certified Veterinary Technician CVT Control Value Table belts and prefer the greater economy, accelerative capacity, and sportiness of DCTs. "By 2015," says Eckl, "we expect DCTs to take 29% of the European market, 7% of the North American North American named after North America. North American blastomycosis see North American blastomycosis. North American cattle tick see boophilusannulatus. market, and 13% of the Asian market." Getrag isn't just banking on new transmission technology for growth. With a large portion of the market populated by transverse front-drive vehicles, it is developing traction concepts that make the most out of this architecture by increasing its flexibility. According to Dr. Stefan Rinderknecht, Getrag's v.p. of Research and Development, vehicles built with this powertrain architecture are ripe For the addition of an electronic limited-slip differential that shifts torque side-to-side or front-to-back in order to improve traction and handling. For the ultimate in traction, a hang-on power transfer unit (PTU PTU abbr. propylthiouracil PTU propylthiouracil. propylthiouracil (PTU) Propyl-Thyracil (CA) Pharmacologic class: Thioamide derivative Therapeutic class: ) can be added to the end of the gearbox to drive the rear wheels. "We can also take this basic front-drive layout and use it to drive the rear wheels alone, or--with the addition of a PTU--make this an all-wheel-drive vehicle with a rear torque bias." As odd as it may sound, one American automaker is rumored to be investigating a transverse rear-drive layout For a small vehicle with performance overtones.--CAS [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] |
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