Author: Tom Noble

In my last article, I wrote up the basics of the automatic transmission. One of the key components that I talked about was the planetary (or epicyclic) gearset, and in this article I will get into a little more detail of their history and versatility. First off, why are they called “planetary” gearsets? According to…

One of my coworkers, when I was in the auto industry,  jokingly called automatic transmissions “automagic”  transmissions. At the time when they first came out, I  imagine they did seem a little like magic — no clutch, no  gearshift, and the car just did it all itself. There was no actual magic involved, just some impressive…