A History of Manual Vehicle Transmissions

The automobile transmission is a vital piece of machinery that can take your engine's mechanical energy and apply it to various gear speeds for specific rotational force. While there are dozens of pieces and parts that make up an engine, few are as vital as the transmission. The car is an invention that changed the world, so each step forward in its production quality added to the epic saga of transportation development. There is so much to know about the past of automobiles, so why not start with one of the earliest advancements—the manual transmission, which still holds its water 130 years later. Here is a history of manual vehicle transmissions.

The Start of Automobile Production

Automobiles define transportation worldwide, but they were not always the gold standard for travel. Before there was an engine in almost every garage, there were horse-drawn carriages and bicycles. The beginning of automobile production changed the landscape of travel and built an entirely new industry that boasts a cumulative value of over two trillion dollars.

The First Cars in History

The first cars appeared on the scene around 1886 when Carl Benz patented his gas-powered vehicle. You may recognize him from the now-famous Mercedes-Benz brand—the person who serves as this company's namesake actually crafted the first operational automobile. As the years progressed, the industry exploded in innovation and manufacturing, ultimately becoming the incredibly vast automotive sector we know today.

Before the Manual Transmission

The manual transmission predates the automatic transmission, as the automatic has more sophisticated sensors and machination. However, there were transmissions that predated even the manual transmission. The manufacturers of history designed the first cars with what people called a rear-engine setup. This design only allowed for a single-speed transmission. This means it did not need gear changes, and thus there were no gears to shift manually. Only with the advent of more than one speed did the transmission world widen.

Manual Transmissions Change the Game

Have you ever watched a racecar zoom around a track at 200-plus miles per hour? It is mind-boggling that a human created such a machine and that another drives it to its farthest limits. Well, going from zero to two hundred requires gear shifts that the first cars did not have. The manual transmission began this journey from a simple one-speed engine to machines with eight gears.

Panhard and Levassor Get the Ball Rolling

Louis-Rene Panhard and Emile Levassor were the first to develop the manual transmission. They created a three-speed "sliding-mesh" design that still lives on as the functional foundation for current transmissions. Compared to the original rear-engine transmissions, this model equipped drivers with three speeds that they could switch between. Their non-synchronous gear design began every manual transmission driver's worst nightmare—grinding gears. Drivers back in the late 1800s, just as much as today, needed to match the timing of their gear change with the approximate speed of their vehicle. This way, the gears would align correctly when shifted along the shaft. If you missed the teeth, the gears did not mesh, and you endured the horrendous metallic crunching, endearingly termed "crash boxes" by the earliest drivers.

Regardless of the operational challenges Panhard and Levassor introduced into the world, these French innovators patented their advanced transmission in 1894, less than ten years after the advent of the automobile. As their design permeated the market, Panhard and Levassor sprang a chain reaction of engineering creativity that led to further transmission invention.

Renault Plays a Variation on the Theme

Louis Renault was the next creative genius to enter the mix—now also the name of a leading automaker in Europe. This Frenchman came up with another way for the manual transmission to accomplish the same gear-changing motions with a different mechanical method. He switched the drive chain for a drive shaft and included a differential axle for the rear wheels. His improvements increased the performance of the manual transmission, making it a stronger, more effective automotive part.

Making Manual Accessible

At the time of the first manual transmissions, there was only one way for a manual transmission to work, and that was with non-synchronous gears. However, more was possible with the transmission than raw, grinding gears. The next leap in automotive history concerns the changes that made manual transmissions accessible for all kinds of drivers.

Earl Avery Thompson Makes Two from One

Earl Avery Thompson was the first to come up with synchromesh, a revolutionary way to synchronize the forward gears during gear shifts. The synchronizer rings enable the speed of the shaft and the speed of the newly selected gear to match. This 1919 invention carries on today with modern vehicle transmissions, and drivers then and now benefit from the simpler driving experience. The transmission synchronicity keeps the driver from needing to match the engine with the forward gear shift, reducing the piercing gear grinding of manual transmissions. This transformation made manual transmission much more accessible, reducing the amount of frustration and need for repair.

Gear Ratios and High Speeds

As the years progressed, roads became smoother, cars became commonplace, and fast-paced life set in. These changes all yielded an increase in the gear ratios during the mid and late-1900s. While three gears were enough for travel in the late 19th century, this would not jive with the 21st-century lifestyle. In fact, 2012 marks the first seven-speed manual transmission from the automaker, Porsche. The world continues to grow, and new advancements in automotive technology will bring unforeseen changes that improve one of the transportation foundations of our day-to-day life.

A history of manual vehicle transmissions is a helpful reminder to drivers why automotive care is essential—no matter how mundane it may sound. Transmissions endure a hefty amount of torque and shifting, so take proper care of them. Reach out to our team at Transparts Warehouse to learn more about our manual transmission parts online. We can help you find just the right part that you need for your repair or improvement. We’d be happy to answer any questions you have, so feel free to give us a call today.

A History of Manual Vehicle Transmissions