Design of automobile transmissions

Try a Corvette - now THAT sucks.

Well it DOES.........for some of us Personally I would prefer a split bucket bench or even a bench seat car anyday to the most expensive pretentious vain overprized crap like Corvette

You totally miss my point. I am talking about NOT having to sacrifice comfort What is wrong if everything is same the Corvette but if gearshift control was on the steering column and the area between seats if free to move your legs. I am not saya ing everyone would prefer it but there will be s significant % that would prefer it. How much ? I do not know but at least 25% which is good enough to justify another model with such a design

Yet you missed (or just prefer to troll because you are clueless about technical issues) the central issue of my quetion.

Vain moron............goodbye

Sure thing... a vette with three on the tree and a bench seat...... and you call him a moron.......lmfao! Bob

wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...

I think some of the older Avalons offered them as an option.

Not all cars have the transmission between the seats. Most transverse engine front wheel drive cars have it either beside, in front of, or under the engine. Such cars still usually have a small tunnel for routing the exhaust pipe. Plus the tunnel acts to stiffen the floor pan. For rear wheel drive cars, the transmission is usually bolted directly to the rear of the engine. In order to distribute the weight of the engine and transmission as evenly as possible between the front and rear wheels, designers usually try to position the engine and transmission as far to the rear as possible. The tunnel you are complaining about has to provide room for the engine, transmission, exhaust manifolds and pipes, wiring, etc., etc. Vee style engines are wider than the inline engines, so the tunnel has to be particularly wide near the front of the passenger compartment. Automatic transmissions tend to be particularly large and require more room in the tunnel than manual transmissions. Older cars sat up higher, and therefore the tunnel was smaller. There are also older designs that pushed the passenger compartment towards the rear of the car However, if you want a spacious four seat passenger compartment and a useful trunk, this makes for a very long car. There have been cars in the past that separated the transmission from the engine. Instead of having the transmission directly behind the engine, it is relocated to the rear of the car and combined with the final drive. The engine and transmission are connected by a relatively long high speed drive shaft. These have been done to have vibration problems.

Try one the large front wheel drive cars instead, like a Toyota Avalon or Buick La Crosse. You might also find a Ford Crown Victoria meets your needs.

Just out of fashion. If manufacturer's thought they would sell more cars, they would make them available. The last car I owned with a split front bench seat was a 1989 Ford Taurus Wagon. My Mom's Grand Marquis has a bench seat - and the tunnel is very small - very much an old style car.

Hmmmmmm

Ed

I would strongly suggest you try driving a minivan a while. Legroom is far better in these, even for the driver.

Ted

Tell ya what, I'll trade you Vlad the Impala (complete with column shift and split bench) for that Corvette you don't want.

Problem is, bench seats and column shifters are seen as "low rent" so only the completely suckiest cars get them.

nate

It confused me for a moment too, CE, but she or he means the shifter, not the tranny.

And there are cars that you can buy that have the shifter on the column, and individually adjustable bench type front seats. My wife's Buick has that configuration.

itself....and

Could be. I havent seen a car with a transmission hump lately. In the good old days, the hump was in the back seat too;>)

Get a Lincoln Navigator or a Chevy Caprice ...plenty of leg room.

Actually I'm long legged 6 feet and 180 pounds and have no problem getting into mid-sized Volvo V70 wagons. Is there another "size" issue your are not telling us about?

So buy an American car. Get a full-size front-drive American car (eg. a Cadillac DTS), and you get a nearly flat floorboard AND a bench seat.

In a conventional rear-drive car, the transmission has to lie between the engine (front) and the rear wheels. OR, you can do it like the Corvette C5/C6, and put the transmission between the rear wheels (a rear transAXLE) and avoid the problem. Its nothing to do with where the "control" (I presume you mean the gearshift lever) is located. FWD cars have had the transmission out by the left front wheel (in most cases- IIRC Hondas have it on the right side) for YEARS, and have variously located both manual and automatic shifters between the seats or on the steering column. Chryslers had pushbutton gear selectors on the dashboard and a transmission under the floor for YEARS back in the 50s.

Yes. Mercedes sux. They're overpriced and overcomplicated, and I still haven't forgiven Daimler for screwing-over Chrysler. Its a matter of great amusement to me that the Chrysler group is currently carrying the burden of keeping Mercedes in business because Mercedes can't make a profit on their own.. in SPITE of grossly over-priced cars.

I didnt miss your point - you didnt see the sarcasm in mine.

And if you want to talk technical, if you dont understand why a tranny is where is it and the bulkiness of it and why there is a hump where it is, then, you're ...

Oh, never mind. Because of your lack of technical knowledge of vehicles and their engineering requirements, it would be fruitless to try and explain.

Why not just get a CAT D-9 ?

Yes I meant the shifter Sorry if there was any confusion

Avalon > A Japanese car with bench or splitbucket ? Never heard of it Are you sure ?

I know there are still quite a few American made cars but very few in mid size range.

BTW I remember this Nissan economy size car Sentra 15 years ago that had bucket seats but had absolutely NOTHING in between on the floor between passenger and driver. Was pretty cool & comfortable.

A Vette itself is moronic given that it is for a juveinle fantasies of grown up retards like you.

I am laughing my ass off at your immaturity and lack of respect for other peoples preferences.

I realize the manufactureer is selling a fantasy when they sell a car but I cannot see why they cannot make it comfortable as well

I agree but the discussion has completely rolled off topic

My question was about why the stupid thing has to stick up there in the middle. I saw one reply addressing the question that gives an idea of problems faced but I thought these would have been addressed over 50 years of auto electronics and mechanics