Automatic

General Motors will debut a new 9-speed automatic transmission in Chevrolet models.

Time was that the most gears you could get in an automatic transmission was three or four. Then came five- and six-speed automatics, which are now pretty much the standard (along with increasingly prevalent continuously variable transmissions, or CVTs). But the transmission wars have continued to...

One of the factors making higher gas mileage possible across pretty much any vehicle on sale these days is multispeed transmissions. At the dawn of this century, four-speed automatics were the standard; now it's six speeds--and eight-speed automatics are coming on strong. Future models of the...

The 2013 Dodge Dart has gotten off to a slow start in the market, but it's a vitally important car for Chrysler. The first vehicle based on shared underpinnings from its parent Fiat, the Dart has to show Chrysler can build competitive cars--and, even more important, top-quality small cars that...

If you’re in the market for a new car, but the current offerings of electric, plug-in hybrid and hybrid cars aren’t suitable there’s an often-overlooked way to get better gas mileage - more gears. In recent years we’ve seen six and seven speed automatic gearboxes becoming...

Autonomous engine stop-start systems, designed to save fuel by turning off a car’s engine when at a standstill, are increasing in popularity, especially in Europe, where fuel prices are often double what they are here. In many cases, the addition of an engine stop-start system can net fuel...

Between car loans, trade-ins, and special promotional incentives, most people rarely write a large check for their new car purchase. But what you can get for $10,000? What's the absolutely simplest, least expensive car on the U.S. market today? Actually, there are two: the 2009 Hyundai Accent and...