RCJoe
Senior Cook
Wow taxlady, that was possibly the deal of your lifetime.
By that time automatic transmissions had improved so much that it was possible for them to reach well over 300K miles before they would have to be replaced. So the whole auto/truck industry was beginning to turn to them.
The Minister of my Church (where I often cook) is a retired Auto Transmission Engineer from GMC, and we've talked about this at some length and the reasoning for it. The standard has to have clutches replaced and much of that depends on the driver(s) habits. That is hard to forecast where the auto transmission allows a better prediction for maintenance. Also anyone who can drive could usually be taught to drive something like a Step Van.
Another thing was that manufacturers began to offer only bare bones trucks with standard transmissions. To get something nice and well equipped....it only came with an automatic transmission.
Over the long run the cost of a clutch replacement in a standard would pay for the extra cost in fuel the automatic transmission would use. Things like "lock up torque converters" made the car or truck operate like a standard in high gear once at cruising speed. Overdrive options have added increased mileage.
If you were driving it today taxlady, you'd be the Queen of the highway.
See if this brings back some memories
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?...EE27A45BCEC1BA564916EE2&view=detail&FORM=VIRE
By that time automatic transmissions had improved so much that it was possible for them to reach well over 300K miles before they would have to be replaced. So the whole auto/truck industry was beginning to turn to them.
The Minister of my Church (where I often cook) is a retired Auto Transmission Engineer from GMC, and we've talked about this at some length and the reasoning for it. The standard has to have clutches replaced and much of that depends on the driver(s) habits. That is hard to forecast where the auto transmission allows a better prediction for maintenance. Also anyone who can drive could usually be taught to drive something like a Step Van.
Another thing was that manufacturers began to offer only bare bones trucks with standard transmissions. To get something nice and well equipped....it only came with an automatic transmission.
Over the long run the cost of a clutch replacement in a standard would pay for the extra cost in fuel the automatic transmission would use. Things like "lock up torque converters" made the car or truck operate like a standard in high gear once at cruising speed. Overdrive options have added increased mileage.
If you were driving it today taxlady, you'd be the Queen of the highway.
See if this brings back some memories
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?...EE27A45BCEC1BA564916EE2&view=detail&FORM=VIRE