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So Many Parts
05 Sep 2003 by Jason Freud
Mercedes-Benz just announced a new
7-speed transmission purported to deliver “improved fuel consumption and driving pleasure.” And maybe it will, but what blows me away is how many parts have to work together to make something like a car transmission work. Look at all those parts. The gears, the nuts/bolts, the gaskets, the casings, the other stuff (?), etc. They all have to be assembled just right. And that’s just the transmission. Then there’s the steering, the suspension, the brakes, the engine, the electronics, etc. It’s amazing that cars work at all. And, it’s even more amazing that you can
buy one for under $10,000 with a 10 year, 100,000 mile warranty.
9 comments so far (Post a Comment)
05 Sep 2003 | Brad Hurley said...
This reminds me that Honda UK put out an amazing ad, "The Cog" in which they built a chain-reaction machine from many of the parts of a new Honda Accord. You can view the ad here by clicking on the cog once it stops moving and then choosing from a menu.
It took more than 600 takes for the whole chain reaction to work perfectly...brilliant stuff.
05 Sep 2003 | One of several Steves said...
Try working with an automaker as a client (I've had three thus far). Their business operations are so byzantine and bizarre, and non-commiunicative, it's a wonder that they can build cars at all.
05 Sep 2003 | carguy said...
From a technical standpoint, it's not really a big deal.
05 Sep 2003 | Don Schenck said...
What I find interesting is that it has two speeds in reverse. I guess in case you need to back out of McDonald's after reading Fast Food Nation.
:-)
05 Sep 2003 | steve said...
18-wheelers and other big trucks have had 10-speed transmissions for ages, and they certainly have more moving parts than M-B's 7-speed. But what's most interesting about the Benz system is its two reverse gears. Who's going to drive so fast in reverse that they need two gears? Trucks need two becuase they weigh so much, but a passenger car?
05 Sep 2003 | steve said...
Don, you beat me to the punch. I like your example!
07 Sep 2003 | sdf said...
a think the kia of your 10 grand example has less parts than the mb-transmission alone ;-)
08 Sep 2003 | Bill Brown said...
All that complication is what makes it nearly impossible to start up a new car company that isn't a subsidiary of the Big Three (or Five or How ever many there are nowadays). That's a real shame because I think that the competition would be very interesting.
09 Sep 2003 | p8 said...
With the Daf Variomatic transmission you could drive as fast forward as backward. This is why it was perfect for the dutch folklore of backwards racing. (I tried to find a picture of backwards racing but there doesn't seem to be one online)
