Abstract
The author has set out to review the use, development, and history of the transmission system as applied to commercial vehicles and to forecast the future trends. The point is made that the transmission system is to be considered in relation to the vehicle and the service to which the vehicle is put rather than as an end in itself. The characteristics of the various systems at present available are therefore examined from the aspect of their effect on vehicle performance.
Since engines of similar characteristics are fitted into an ever-increasing range of vehicles of divergent types, features of the various types of transmission are analysed to give a rough guide as to their suitability for differing service. For this purpose the modern types are grouped under a form of genealogical tree, in which an attempt is made to trace their ancestry.
Commercial vehicle usage is broken down into type of vehicle, and the main markets into which they are sold and the various contradictory features exhibited by the behaviour of the transmission system in the vehicles are listed with a suggestion of preference for the type of vehicle in that particular market.
Characteristics of different classes of vehicle are examined in relation to driver reaction, and the type of control which would be most likely to appeal to drivers accustomed to them.
The Appendix gives diagrammatic drawings of transmission systems developed over the last half-century.
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