automatic transmission question

[mspalmer]

I don't know a heckuva a lot about the inner workings of cars so I was hoping someone could answer a quick question? I've read in several places about some new cars offering 5 and 6 speed automatic transmissions to help with fuel economy (I realize a manual transmission would be more efficient yet). How come there are not more 5 or 6 speed automatic transmissions out there? Is it cost or performance or something I don't even realize? How about putting one of these on the Vibe or better yet adding a CVT to future models.Thanks,Mike

[ragingfish]

CVT's are continuously proving themselves unreliable and maintenance nightmares. They had a very short-lived run in the Saturn VUE, befure GM yanked them and switched to a traditional transmission.5/6 speeds not only are more expensive to produce and equip, but would be unnecessary in a car with such low horsepower and/or torque bands. GM is slowly developing a 5 speed auto, but don't ever expect to see one in the Vibe. It's simply pointless. The 4 speed is the best handler for this type of engine.

[mspalmer]

thank you very much, it is this kind of great info that I love this site forMike

[ragingfish]

No problem.Despite the few people who are apparantly offended by our outpouring of information and tolerance of people with "stupid" (and that's obviously NOT a literal description, but metaphorical) questions, I like to think this is a damn fine site.

[iinan]

Quote, originally posted by ragingfish » tolerance of people with "stupid" questions, ISo, you are saying that I should just use prem. fuel in my GT then ?---just kidding

[ragingfish]

Quote, originally posted by iinan »So, you are saying that I should just use prem. fuel in my GT then ?---just kidding RTFM!IT SAYS DIESEL FUEL ONLY FOR THE GT!

[Jahntassa]

Quote, originally posted by ragingfish »RTFM!IT SAYS DIESEL FUEL ONLY FOR THE GT! No wonder my mileage has sucked recently.. I forgot to add lead to the mix!

[iinan]

Quote, originally posted by ragingfish »RTFM!IT SAYS DIESEL FUEL ONLY FOR THE GT! Oh sure sure, I dont believe you for a second, just like that time you tried to convince everyone that the vibe is a toyota matrix clone, I aint so gullable !

[ColonelPanic]

It will probably take some time but we will eventually see 5 and 6 speed automatics become fairly common. IIRC, it was back in the 80's that 4-speed automatics became widely available, but just a few years ago you could still find cars rolling off the line with a 3-speed in 'em...Eventually we could see the 4-speed go the way of the 3-speed. As it stands now, there are plenty of cars around with 5-speed automatics, but none in the Vibe's class that I'm aware of. Mike may be on to something, as it appears to me that the 5-speed automatics tend to be mated to V6 engines. When you're dealing with low torque and horsepower, it may not be a good idea, but can't say for sure. Anything extra you can do to lower the revs will help save fuel, but it could have an impact on performance. I dunno!Although a 5-speed automatic was previously reserved for more expensive vehicles, they are trickling down to the "lesser" models these days. We're starting to see cars and SUV-type vehicles in the low $20K range come with 5-speed autos right now...

[tnpartsguy]

CP, you gotta remeber that GM still produces cars with 3 speed Autos right now! We just got lucky that the Vibe got a 4 speed.