There has been a great deal of controversy in recent years over whether the benefits of automated manuals (automatic) transmissions outweigh the cost in tractor trailers. The rapid development and proven reliability of automateds are on the verge of settling the issue.
Both standard and automated transmissions have been around since the inception of the automobile, but it was only in the early 1990s that manufacturers began using automateds on road cars.
Internally, an automated manual is identical to a standard manual transmission. The difference comes in the shift mechanism, where automated manuals use a series of hydraulic rams and servos to shift at the direction of a computer.
As they are internally identical, there is no difference in strength between an automated and a standard transmission.
An automated manual's computer works with the truck's engine-control computer to stay in its optimum range at all times. Consequently, automated manuals often get better fuel economy than a standard.
Aside from delivering smoother shifts than most drivers can manually, automated trucks consistently outperform standard-transmission trucks in acceleration.
