The Elio Automatic Transmission

[pistonboy]

An automated manual transmission would have a very distinct feel. The moments the clutch disengages to change gears would be moments when the acceleration of the vehicle stops and coasts. Then the acceleration starts again when the clutch is reengaged. The harder the acceleration of the vehicle, the more pronounced this would be. It would feel like when being a passenger with someone else shifting the manual transmission. Perhaps the transmission would shift 'optimally', but the feel would still be there. I believe I would not like the feel, and that is why I will probably no get the automated manual transmission.

I doubt this transmission is used in North America-----yet.

Elio may be breaking new ground----again.

 

[Sethodine]

Hmmm, that's a little frustrating. I really wish I could try out the MMT before committing financially to one.

 

[slinches]

I think someone mentioned earlier on that some Smart Cars have AMTs. Although I haven't verified that.

ETA: Apparently the latest models have a dual clutch transmission rather than a standard AMT. You may have to find a used one to test drive.

 

[Sethodine]

I think someone mentioned earlier on that some Smart Cars have AMTs. Although I haven't verified that.

I believe the AMT in the Smart Car is different from the MMT by Aisin. But I can't remember the difference, so

 

[pistonboy]

If we ask Elio Motors, will they tell us if the automated manual transmission is currently used in the USA or if the Elio is its first application in the USA?

 

[slinches]

The Smart ForTwo definitely had an AMT in it (see video). Apparently, the 2016 model switched to a dual clutch gearbox due to complaints about "laggy" shifting.

 

[floydv]

The Smart ForTwo definitely had an AMT in it (see video). Apparently, the 2016 model switched to a dual clutch gearbox due to complaints about "laggy" shifting.

I've been driving a smart with a single clutch AMT since 2008 when they arrived in the US. In my opinion, the complaints about the AMT were hugely overblown and unwarranted, generally made by folks who didn't understand the AMT and were used to a conventional automatic transmission with torque converter.

 

[McBrew]

So, maybe $8k out the door? Ouch... How often do you have to do this? If it's based on charge cycles (most likely), then those of us who drive more miles would be replacing it a lot more often. An extra $8K bill every three years sure makes an electric car much less attractive.

Hmm... Nissan's warranty for the battery is 100,000 or 8 years. At 33mpg, I would use 3,030 gallons of gas to go 100,000. So, $8,000 spread out over 3,030 gallons of gas is an equivalent of $2.64 per gallon. Plus the cost of all that electricity that I have to spend to charge the batteries. (Not sure how much that would cost.) So to save money driving a Leaf (ignoring the fact that it doesn't have the battery capacity I need to make even a single trip back and forth to work) gas would have to cost more than $2.64.

That's a significant hidden cost to driving an electric car.

You are making a lot of worst case scenario assumptions. You assume that since the warranty is 100,000 miles that the battery will fail at that mileage. That's like assuming you'll have to replace your Elio at 36,001 miles.

As for the cost, something like that is not unique to electric cars. The transmission in my Subaru Outback costs $9,000. The engine in my van costs $14,000. The engine OR transmission in my Benz would cost more to replace than the car is worth.

A lot of cars have ongoing costs. Early VW TDIs had timing belts that had to be replaced every 40,000 miles. This cost approximately $2,000 at the dealership. Later, this was stretched out to 105,000 miles before improving the belt and the tensioner/rollers.

 

[Rob Croson]

You are making a lot of worst case scenario assumptions.

Yes, I am. And no, I didn't state all the maintenance costs with standard engines. These are things I understand, and didn't feel necessary to repeat. I bet everyone hear already understands that.

But I don't know a lot about electric, so was going through my thoughts on them. You often hear about batteries needing to be replaced, but I don't hear a lot about what they really cost. All you hear is "they're so cheap, drive it for pennies a mile" etc. I'm processing this stuff, and you guys get to read along with my train of thought.

 

[pistonboy]

The Smart ForTwo definitely had an AMT in it (see video). Apparently, the 2016 model switched to a dual clutch gearbox due to complaints about "laggy" shifting.

Thank you for pointing out this video. It is great! It directly discusses the transmission and explains it.

I would like an automatic transmission. However I have always been the driver in my vehicles and not the passenger. I am worried the vehicle shifting without me controlling it would be irritating to me. (Tell Freud (idiot) I have control issues) I like machines and appreciate how they are designed, built, and work. The "laggy" shifting mentioned is exactly what I am talking about. There is nothing wrong with that transmission at all. It is a very cleaver concept. However, it may still be irritating to me to feel the shifting without me doing it. Again, there is nothing wrong with the transmission, it is just me.

I wanted to discover how quickly the vehicle shifted. At 6:30 in the video, the shifting of the vehicle can be heard. I wish the sales person would keep quiet and let me hear the vehicle more.

I want to try an AMT. But what vehicle uses it? He mentioned high performance cars, but they would not feel anything like an Elio, and Lamborghini would recognize I am not a millionaire and thus would not let me try one.