Quote:
Originally Posted by old_tv_nut
The Ford Model T had a manual planetary transmission.[/url]
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You beat me to it!
Our now gone Passat had VW's direct shift gearbox... basically a manual transmission with all the odd gears on one shaft / clutch, and the even gears on another shaft / clutch, with a computer running the show.
What that means is that while you're cruising along in 3rd, the computer tries to predict what you're going to do next, and will shift the even gears into 2nd or 4th - while the driving gear set is still in 3rd. Then when it comes time to "shift" it just swaps the clutches. It makes for a very fast, very smooth change under full load.
However, in stop and go traffic, it's "un smooth" at best
No torque converter, just the computer operating / slipping the clutches. They're wet clutches at least. That car offered TipTronic, from either the console shifter or paddles on the steering wheel you can + / - to get the gear you want.
The E-CVT in my Cadillac is based around a planetary gearset.
-J