Detroit Rescue Plans Revealed

On Tue, 9 Dec 2008 16:46:25 -0600, HLS cast forth these pearls of
wisdom...:

> "Lloyd" <lparker.TakeThisOut@emory.edu> wrote in message
> news:f648260e-e92a-425b-9b35-b9f32effee50@w35g2000yqm.googlegroups.com...
> On Dec 5, 10:55 pm, Mike Marlow <mmarlowREM....TakeThisOut@alltel.net> wrote:
>> On Fri, 5 Dec 2008 11:21:24 -0800 (PST), Lloyd cast forth these pearls of
>> wisdom...:
>>
>>
>>
>>> A 6-sp will get better mileage, better acceleration, and be quieter,
>>> all things equal.
>>
>> You don't get it do you? It isn't about the number of speeds. It's about
>> the torque curve and the gear ratio. You can have 100 speeds and not
>> achieve any better mileage.
>
>
> Yes, you could have 100 speeds and not improve the economy, but the
> transmission ratios are vitally important in the way a car performs and
> in the economy.
>
> You need to stay within the most economical band of RPM for the
> engine, and a properly designed transmission helps you do this.
> It helps you optimize the mileage you can get from a particular engine/
> tranny setup IF done properly.
>
> Traditional 3 or 4 speed trannies (manual) were still 1:1 in high gear.
>
> It isnt that way any more. You can have one or more overdrive gears.
>
> A shitteaux 3 speed automatic can give you good mileage or TERRIBLE
> mileage if not matched to the characteristics of the engine.
>
> Lloyd is not wrong, IMO. But we are dealing with some mighty broad
> assumptions

Not really. The assumptions were (as stated by lloyd...) that the 3sp/OD
was inferior and did not provide the economy of a 6 speed. While what you
state above is true, it's somewhat irrelevant since the GM trannies do a
very good job of keep the car within its power band. I agree that one
could potentially argue that they could re-gear first for more off the line
power in some models (4 cyls), but even at that, it's not horrible, it's
just not snappy.

The whole point of this discussion was not about sitteaux 3 speed
automatics - it was about GM's tranny.
--

-Mike-
mmarlowREMOVE.TakeThisOut@alltel.net

> The new CVT transmissions such as found on the Caliber do not get better
> mpg. The CVT effectively is infinite gears yet the Calibers mpg is
> subpar compared with other vehicles with traditional transmissions in
> its class. My guess is that the power loss through the CVT is more than
> any gains from the ideal ratio being achieved.

I have a Caliber with the 2.0/CVT and get 27-30 around town, and 33-34
on the highway, much better than our two PT Cruisers got!
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