For Fuel Efficiency: Automatic/automated Transmissions

摘要

For an increasing number of on-highway fleet operations, automatic and automated manual transmissions are becoming standard specifications. While providing an inherent safety benefit by helping eliminate the need for drivers to make fatigue-producing and distracting shifts, these gearboxes also are seen as a means of enhancing fuel efficiency. "An automatic transmission can provide superior fuel efficiency during acceleration," says Lou Gilbert, director of North American Marketing at Allison Transmission, the maker of commercial-duty automatic transmissions. "In an automatic transmission full-power shifts are a highly fuel-efficient way to put engine power to the ground. Manual transmissions must interrupt engine power every time a shift is made, which creates powertrain inefficiencies. Full power shifts with an automatic transmission can help consume proportionately less fuel."