If you want to be fully in charge of your car’s performance, you will certainly need a manual stick shifter, but if you live in the USA or Canada, you will have to put a great deal of effort to find a manual model on the market. There are only 8 models manufactured for performance-craving customers that come only with a stick-shifter. Subaru provides 2 models from this list, namely, the 2019 Subaru WRX STI and the limited edition STI S209.

According to the Ford’s secret memo obtained by news media, the automaker instructed its American dealership centers to fix ill-fated Powershift transmissions installed in popular budget models Focus and Fiesta, if owners of cars produced during 2011-2017 lodge transmission-related complaints. In should be noted that many of these cars have expired transmission warranties.

Continuously Variable Transmissions (CVTs) have been around for quite a long time, but for some drivers this type of transmission still remains a mystery. CVT transmissions have certain design peculiarities, which have a significant impact on rules of operation of these units. In this article, we will consider the main aspects of driving CVT-equipped cars and learn how to avoid early visits to repair shops.

Recently, GM has announced that 2 of its 2020 models, namely Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana, will receive some upgrades of their transmission systems. It is claimed that the 8-speed automatics installed in both vans will be equipped with a fresh torque converters and absorbing mechanism.

The list of new manually-shifted cars released on the US market continues to grow shorter. Hyundai has recently said that the new Elantra and some versions of the Veloster Turbo will be equipped only with automatic transmissions.

The long-awaited 2020 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray has been recently presented to the public. This supercar is equipped with a wide range of technical features and special attention should be given to the transmission unit, namely an 8-speed dual-clutch transmission.

The American financial service company Morgan Stanley has recently reported that Allison Transmission, despite its stable financial performance in recent years, reaches a "vulnerable point in the cycle".

Hyundai has designed a unique Active Shift Control (ASC) high-tech solution. This innovative product ensures optimization of the transmission performance capacity by keeping track of the gear shifting process five hundred times per second, accurately adapting the rotation rate for improvement of shift times parameters. The new solution will debut in the new Sonata Hybrid and undoubtedly will find application in other hybrid models.

ZF has recently announced the 3-rd major order within few weeks. The company will provide major powertrain elements for Daimler’s new electric SUV, the Mercedes EQC. Earlier, ZF closed two major deals with BMW and FCA on supply of its latest 8HP transmission.

When you take a look back at Porsche's history, there are specific components that made the German automaker so popular, and they stuck to them for years — naturally aspirated engines paired with manual transmissions.

Allison Transmission’s plant in Hungary has recently broken new ground by finishing its 250,000th automatic transmission. The product, which marked this achievement, is the 4000 Series Torqmatic assembled at this facility at the commission of the Belgian company Van Hool , specialized in production of buses, trolleybuses, and trailers.

The main differences between these two units lie in the fact that the 2WD output shaft is longer than the 4WD version and 4WDs are connected to a transfer case. Some carmakers manufacture their 2WD transmissions in such a way that they can be transformed into 4WD models.

While some automakers actively exclude manual transmissions from their line-up, others, like Volkswagen still believe in viability of stick shifter and even invest in new products. The German auto giant Volkswagen has recently started production of its new manual transmission named MQ281. This new solution is assumed to increase the powertrain effectiveness and to reduce CO2 emissions.

The latest 8-speed hybrid automatic transmission, designed by ZF engineers, has already drawn a lot of attention from major automakers, which translated into two major orders from BMW and FCA. Now ZF is providing more information on its promising solution.

The recent investigation on Powershift transmission issues in Ford Fiesta and Focus models, conducted by Detroit Free Press, revealed that the company was fully aware of issues with the gear shifting unit even before both models hit the market.