An Automatic Transmission for Small Cars

Abstract

In the larger and higher powered cars automatic transmissions have become well established, while by comparison their adoption in smaller cars has been rather slow. There are technical and commercial reasons for this but it would be fair to say that the requirements are more exacting than in the larger installations. An obvious example is that with the reduced power reserve associated with smaller cars the need for a wider ratio range is desirable which usually adds seriously to the overall costs and complications. These two companion papers are related to the B.M.C. ‘Mini’ and ‘1100’ cars. The first paper deals with the history of the prototypes and the second paper with the production design.