So how many transmissions have you driven?

[Mike W.]

Especially with as many younger members as we now have, not a bad thing BTW, I'm wondering how many have driven what? And be assured, I'm not claiming I've driven everything.

3 on the floor, a 3 speed manual once considered a sporting step up from 3 on the tree
4 on the floor, once a big deal and step above a 3 speed. My first 15 years of BMWs were this format.
5 on the floor, now seemingly standard with a stick.
Dogleg 5. I'm not sure I've ever driven one.
6 on the floor. I know I haven't driven one.
8 speed, twin stick, OD on all 4 gears. A fun combo on ~80s Mitsubitshi/Dodge Colts. I had one, best thing about the car.
???

3 on the tree. Column shift manual tranny, once the base tranny on domestic cars. Usually without synchro in first.
4 on the tree. I've driven a couple, some European cars and a friend had an early Ford van (65?) with one. Not as bad as it sounds.

A/Ts
2 on the column
3 on the column
4 on the column
(I'm sure they are more inbetween, I just haven't actually seen them)
8 on the column

2 on the floor
3 on the floor
4 on the floor
5 on the floor
6 on the floor
7 on the floor
and I'm sure more with the explosion of A/T ratios.

Electric OD. Some Volvos and MGs had it. Laycock IIRC. Probably more. Only on 3rd and 4th.

2 speed rear axle. This is borderline, the one I drove was on a 2(?) ton truck. Heavy trucks get into way more.

I've driven 18 of the above. There's more I'm sure, but what?

[Mdreamer]

Here goes:

Manuals
Three (on the tree)
Four speed
Five speed
Six speed
Seven speed

Automatics/semi-auto/dual clutch
Two speed (old fashioned type, and new two speed in Porsche Taycan)
Three speed
Four speed
Five speed
Six Speed
Seven speed (PDK)
Eight speed (PDK II)
10 speed

I think that's it. I get to drive some pretty cool stuff for my job, so a lot of the new stuff I am sampling regularly. I miss driving old stuff, though.

[RonW]

All my cars, and my parents' cars when I was growning up, had standard transmissions:
4 on the floor ('67 VW bug, '70s Honda Civic, '73 Volvo 144)
5 on the floor ('80s Honda Civic, '86 BMW 535i, '87 BMW 535is, '01 BMW 325Ci)

Almost everything else (rentals, other people's cars) has been an automatic.

[duggi]

4, 5 & 6 "on the floor" manuals
3, 4, 5, 6, & 8 "on the floor" autos
3, 4, 5, & 9 "on the tree" autos
6 & 7 DCTs
A few CVTs as well, even one with 7 "ratios" and paddle shifters

Wow this was an interesting exercise, I feel that's a lot of variety for someone my age (mid-30s).

[a]

Let's put it this way: If a vehicle has a 3rd pedal, I could probably figure it out. I had a class one license for many yrs. Manual transmissions are all the same. Every single one is different. Not much, but enough to make each one different. A ]56 VW came with a hand crank. Time marches on dude. In the late Eisenhower era, I watched USN blimps search Massachusetts Bay for subs. I could hear the chains on Gino Rugani's Sterling sing as it rounded the curves by Melvoen's house, a mile away. Yah, I miss the times of my childhood. Flash forward 60 yrs, I don't even know how many speeds the Fridge's transmission has. 5 maybe 6. Doesn't even have a dip stick. Has a 2.5 L I 4 that goes 75mph @ 2200 rpm and gets almost 40 mpg. It's 5 yrs old, so its not even cutting edge

[Kenny Blankenship]

To me, the real connoisseurs have driven 4 on the tree and 5 on the tree manuals...

I have one that's not on your list...5 on the tree automatic! I'm surprised how much I like it.

I want to shift like this guy...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGPE56T1pGk

[a]

I had a Citroen DS 19 with a 4 on the tree. I started my training on an old Mack with a Triplex, 5 main x 3spd auxiliary and later a Fuller Road Ranger. Its a learning process.

[Galahad]

Your list is missing ... whatever you call what my civic has. Five in the dash? Manual Honda Elements had the same setup, but I don't know of any other three pedal cars that do. Here's a pic, sorry it's washed out:



Stick: 5 and 6 on the floor, 5 in the dash
Auto: Various. Nissan CVTs are terrible.

[Mike W.]

Your list is missing ... whatever you call what my civic has. Five in the dash? Manual Honda Elements had the same setup, but I don't know of any other three pedal cars that do. Here's a pic, sorry it's washed out:



Stick: 5 and 6 on the floor, 5 in the dash
Auto: Various. Nissan CVTs are terrible.

Yeah, I missed a few. CVTs and GMs dynaflush from the 50s or so. Chrysler pushbutton A/Ts from the 60s, which I have driven. Early Prius with the A/T shiftlever sticking out of the dash, but the manual in the dash I hadn't even heard about. As far as the Nissans go, I had a rental Maxima with the CVT and really it seemed more like a generic A/T. Of course ~300HP will help compensate for a crappy tranny.

[BMWCCA2]

I guess I'm in for a dozen. Though I didn't see the most current ubiquitous BMW version today, the 8-speed automatic floor shifter.
Also, don't paddles count for anything in the experience?

Throw in the upside-down 4-speed manual left-hand shifter from the Isetta, and maybe some 4, 5, and 6-speed foot shifters from motorcycles.

[David B]

4 on the floor.
4 on the floor, one finger punch to overdrive (83 Volvo Turbo).
2spd auto (power glide).
Standard 5 on the floor.
Dogleg 5.
3-4-5-6spd autos.
6spd on the floor.
Various flappy paddles.
One spd auto which suck ass (CVT), although I often thought that my old 2013 Subaru Outback being a CVT would be killer with the turbo offerings by Subaru. In my head it seems you could hold the pedal at the perfect boost right in the sweet spot of the power band thinking it would go like hell, in theory?

[davintosh]

Lessee... The first transmission I drove was on a tractor (at about 8 years old!) Most were 4-speed manuals, but I think some had 5-speeds; with the low gearing and high torque on those beasts, you could pretty much get them moving from a dead stop in any gear you want unless you're really sloppy with the clutch.

My first car had a 3-speed manual; it originally had a column shifter but a previous owner had converted it to a floor shifter. The weird thing was the collar on the column would move when you moved the floor shifter.

From there I had 2- & 3-speed autotragics, and others with more gears, but I don't remember all the details; column- and console-shiftered, plus a few push-button shifted vehicles (Rambler and Dodge.) When I was a teenager, I test drove an old Dodge pickup that had a Fluid-Drive transmission in it; as I understand, it had a regular manual transmission behind something like a torque converter. There was a clutch pedal that you'd use to get started, but then you could just move the shifter through the gears without using the clutch. I remember it being a bit odd; I wasn't overly impressed with it, and less impressed with the overall shape of the truck, so passed on the purchase.

I've driven a number of manual transmissions, column and floor shift, and even a couple dashboard shift manuals (Mercedes Benz Vito vans and Ford's European Transit vans use that so you can have 3-across seating without banging the shift lever against anybody's knees.)

And yup, the CVT is missing; I currently have two, a Lexus RX400h and a Prius Plug-In. I wasn't too sure about them at first but did some reading, and from what I've read, the Toyota CVTs just work, no drama like some of the others. We've had the Lexus going on 4 years now, it's got ~170,000 miles, and still working great (knocks on wood.) It's a little strange not hearing the normal shifting noises, but it makes sense when you think about the thing keeping the engine in its power band. It grows on you.

[krhodes1]

Weird stuff:
No speeds - sundry electrics
1spd + locking torque converter (GM transit buses)
2spd + locking torque converter (newer version of same)
4+H/L in every gear - (GM farm truck)
Weird clutchless Ford Select-O-Speed thing (ancient Ford tractor) - no idea how many gears at this point - 8? 10?

Manuals:
3 on the tree (American pickups)
4 on the tree (V4 Saabs, Trabant, Wartburg)
5 on the tree (Renault 16)
4 sticking out of the dash (Citroen)
3 on the floor (Dodge Dart!)
3 on the floor plus granny gear
4 on the floor
4+ granny gear
4+O/D on 4th (Volvos)
4+O/D on 3rd and 4th (Triumph Spitfire)
5spd on the floor (regular and dogleg)
6spd on the floor
7spd on the floor (Corvette)

Countless automatics from 3 to 10spds and CVTs. Yawn. But never a regular old 2spd Powerglide - though the transit bus tranny is similar, but with a locking TC.

Current fleet is three 6spds, one 5spd, one 4+3rd and 4th O/D - No autotragics need apply.

[gadget73]

4 on the floor - VW Beetle, 80s Toyota pickup, early 80s Mustang 4 cyl
5 on the floor - Chevy S10, Dodge Dakota
3 on the tree - 70s F100, 60s Plymouth Valiant
2 speed auto - 68 Impala, 66 Olds F85
3 speed auto
4 speed auto OD
6 speed auto
8 speed auto


Everything has automatics, I'd probably go nuts trying to remember every vehicle I've ever driven with an auto box. Of them though, some stand out as being truly bad. 70s Ford 3 speeds are so sloppy they feel like a bad CVT. The 8 speed GM is the exact opposite, always shifting, but it shudders and clunks when it does it. I regularly drive Ford AODs and a ZF 4HP22, and I think it shifts badly so that should tell you something.

Powerglides work but frankly they suck to actually drive. The gearing is such that its too tall to get any kind of useful acceleration off the line, but too short to cruise on the interstate. Its the worst of both worlds unless you live in the country with few stops and all 50 mph roads. They're truly terrible with an I6. Drive a mid 60s Impala with a 230 and a Powerglide sometime and 80s smog era cars start to feel zippy.

[Cactus]

A: (broken and reduced to 1 gear), 2,3,4,5,6,8,10
M:3,4,5,6,10 & 3 on tree.

Hydrostatic (not a car), cvt 4 wheeler, skid steer (whatever that counts for)

Motor Bikes: CVT, 1,4,5,6 and that weird honda with a transfer case.

[RonW]

I just remembered - when I was in high school we had a riding lawnmower with a two-speed standard transmission. I think the transmission lever stuck out from under the left side of the seat. The pedals were in the usual place.

[MrZ]

I'd be interested to hear if anyone has driven a vehicle with a preselector gearbox.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preselector_gearbox

I expect not, unless we have a prewar British racecar driver lurking here, a tanker from British/German Army, or a British lorry driver from 1940-1960.

[Mike W.]

I should have specified cars, but that's ok too. On the non car side, I've driven a bulldozer, which IIRC was just one speed but probably with a torque converter or maybe just a hydrostatic drive. Fork lifts, electric, with one pedal, one side of which does forward and one side of which does reverse. I think there was a separate brake pedal though. A boom lift with 2 speeds controlled by a simple toggle switch. Trucks with 2 speed rear axles. I wonder if the lawnmower RonW is talking about might have had that shift lever under the seat for forward and reverse, rather than 2 speeds. At least that's what the one my folks had in the 60s that I used a bit. Motorcycles with sequential foot shift of course.

Might be more, but that's all that comes to mind at the moment.

[Cactus]

I'd be interested to hear if anyone has driven a vehicle with a preselector gearbox.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preselector_gearbox

I expect not, unless we have a prewar British racecar driver lurking here, a tanker from British/German Army, or a British lorry driver from 1940-1960.

I think a small smattering of domestic oddballs and French oldies had those fancy shifters as well.

[Nanajoth]

4/5/6 speed
Split shift F800
13 speed
Various automatics

[rodpaine]

4/5/6 and 7 speed automated DSG transmissions... the 7-speed DSG in our 2019 Audi RS 3 being the best to date.
Earlier days drove many 3-speed coloum shifts (some 'flopped' for faster shifting) and various automatics with the GM Hydromatic 4-speed being the best and used in my later vehicles after rebuild and modifications (like those done by B&M Hydro). The TorqueFlight trans in my Plymouth 413, 426 and HEMI 426 were also amazing transmissions... given the amount of HP they were handling and the beating they took during my 1/4 mile drag racing days at LADS in Long Beach CA, very nearly every weekend.
-Rod

[Federico]

I've driven a handful of transmissions, but this one was the weirdest/nastiest:
1978 C10 pickup, converted from new to a minibus body. Originally a 3 on the tree, but the coachbuilder made it a 3 on the floor, with a dogleg pattern and the shifter coming from behind the seat.
It was fun to drive, but with the new seating position the pedals and steering wheel were all wrong (you sat on top of the fender well). Combine that with the oil tanker feel to the suspension and misadjusted front drum brakes, and you'll get the picture

[glowell222]

I have driven:

Manual:
3 on the tree ('59 GM truck on which I learned stick. 1st gear was so low I could get out and walk beside the truck while eyeballing bed/trailer/whatever was hooked to the bumper)
3 on the tree (A buddy's Malibu. Total PoS and beaten hard)
4 on the floor ('70 Mustang, Ranchero with a 428. Both so nose heavy and so powerful, they were terrifying to drive)
5 on the floor (TR7, Dodge Daytona Turbo, Porsche 914, Subaru Justy, Honda CVCC, Jeep TJ, many others)
6 on the floor (VW Golf Diesel)
8 speed, twin stick, OD on all 4 gears (Mitsubishi/Dodge Colt thingy-great fuel mileage)
21 speed 5,000 gallon water tanker (Military)

Automatic:
2 speed (Powerglide, Chevy Impala)
3 Speed (P-19A firetruck, various military vehicles, many others)
4 Speed (ahem)
8 Speed (In my wife's very late model Jesus Chrysler Jeep Grand Cherokee iPad-on-wheels. That trans is on it's way out).

[rodpaine]

Driving since 1957 and too many to list. But the best to date is what our 2019 Audi RS 3 is equipped with which is a 7-speed automated manual transmission. Many people think it is an 'Automatic' transmission such as the slush-box contraptions of decades ago, but of course it is not!

Now approaching 15k miles it is an amazing transmission, especially on fast, curve busy good surface quality country back roads, where you're moving pretty rapidly and many gear changes are involved as grade inclines change rapidly. A truly remarkable transmission. We also have a 2015 Golf R DSG which is also good, but the latest 7-speed version in our Audi RS 3 is a very different animal. Best I've ever driven during frequent shifting needs, in my 64 years of driving many vehical types. Simply amazing technology indeed!
-Rod

[e28Sean]

Lesse... In no particular order:

Manuéls:
- Several 5 speeds
- 6 speed
- 3 speed (column shift)
- 12 speed

Autotragics
- 4 speed w/ OD
- 5 speed
- uncountable unmemorable rentals / loaners

[tn535i]

The biggest challenge for me was learning to drive a 1 speed forward and 1 for reverse electric... it was hard not to try to shift and I really wanted something to do with my other foot and free hand. I hated it.

[Mike W.]

The biggest challenge for me was learning to drive a 1 speed forward and 1 for reverse electric... it was hard not to try to shift and I really wanted something to do with my other foot and free hand. I hated it.

I'm just not an A/T guy. I don't know how many times in my wife's car, an E39 touring, with A/T, I've pulled up to a stop sign after getting off the freeway and unconsciously pushed my left foot down and went reaching for the shift lever. At which point my wire reminds me we're in HER car.

I've driven plenty of hybrids but no straight electrics. To me an A/T is an A/T regardless if it's got one speed or is quasi shiftable.

Story. I used to meet with an outlying crew of mine once a week. I'd be driving the county supplied car, a hybrid and they thought I was sneaking up on them it was so quiet as it was often going in on battery. Then I tried to rev it up to announce my arrival but the thing wouldn't rev over 1500 even in neutral.

[JohnH]

I'd be interested to hear if anyone has driven a vehicle with a preselector gearbox.

A school friend had a Daimler Majestic which I used to drive often. The change pedal was where the clutch pedal usually is. It had lost its 2nd gear which meant you had to do a complicated pre-select routine twice to get it into 3rd. It was a 4sp box.

My old Ford Zephyr 6 estate Mk III had a 4sp column change, which I quite liked. The bench front seat was very useful.

MGB 4sp o/d was a great car. Wish I still had it. It still payed to double-declutch when using it.

I really do enjoy diving autos, as they are go-cart like. Left foot brake acts like a clutch away from the line and allows much quicker braking reaction when on the go.

[saruma]

thought this thread was cool and why not add what i've driven. maybe i got the on the floor/on the tree wrong.

i'm 18 so i'm still getting there in numbers but i kinda wanted to shoot in the water. the 530i had blown shift bushings so throwing my arm in gears was an experience after my friend burned the clutch. i daily a manual, and at this point i'm really uncomfortable driving an auto. i keep using my left leg to push nothing when i drive my girlfriend's car, and i catch myself twisting my hand over the lever.

manual -
- 5 speed on floor (2002 crv, 2006 spectra)
- 6 speed on floor (2013 frs, 2002 530i)

automatic -
- 4 speed on floor (1988 535i, 2005 neon)
- 4 speed on tree (1986 k5 blazer)
- 5 speed on dash (2004 pilot)
- 5 speed on floor (1997 328ic, 2007 camry, 2006 tribeca, 2006 e55 amg, 2005 fx35, 2012 charger)
- 6 speed on tree (2012 ram 1500)
- 6 speed on floor (2016 tiguan, 2006 jetta)
- 7 speed cvt (2019 civic)
- 8 speed cvt (2016 renegade)

[Rust Bucket]

Most notable one I've driven was the 1983 E30 318i automatic 3 speeds 3hp22.It was a E30 btw,must have been one of the first E30 sold in Canada.
Acceleration was non-existant,slowest car I've owned,and I owned slow cars,my butt dyno tells me my 1995 Corolla 1.6 3 speeds would have won
that race !

But that car was ridiculous in the corners,being it was the lightest trim imaginable E30,and being a automatic car I did'nt have to care about shifting or wathever.I was purely concentrating on approching exit,that I gathered speed prior for two miles!That car was in great shape, and it was better in the curves than both 318is I owned before, no matter the sport suspension or wathever the "is" means.

Now I'm driving a 6 speed Scion iM hatchback(hey,I took a grown up decision okay),took me more than a year to get used to this clutch,friction point is right on the edge.I could put a block under clutch pedal only allowing 3/8" travel and it would be find.Another thing I can tell you is
Michelin Primacy are no jokes,225s on 18x8.5 made my Scion ridiculous in the curves,I give corrections here and there to unsuspecting sports cars.
Oh the shame in their faces when they see the Scion logo.

Had fun abusing a RWD RCLB Chevy 2500 with the 6.0/4l80e.Managed to blow the torque converter.Pro Tip; keep oil level in check in those trannies.
Had much fun getting thru a winter with bald tires in the back (dont do this).Overpass or climbing inclinations were a challenge to prepare for,
momentum is a word that comes to mind.How I still have my full drivers licence is a mistery to me.You got to give gas before,and release gas before,when hooning the thing.There is delay,it's not a sport car.

Once I drove that U-Haul 17' in icy conditions,while going downhill the tranny tried to kill me when it kickeddown throwing the truck sideway.That tranny AINT smooth.Luckily I had my speed in check and it translated in one very nice two corners 180* drift.I'm not one to turn down a great
occasion and that 6.8 V10 got the job done.