Welcome to Sunday Matinee, where we highlight classic car reviews or other longer videos I find on YouTube. Kick back and enjoy this blast from the past.
It's rare to see a video from way back in the day that actually explains anything better than we could, what with our fancy computer generated graphics and the whatnot. This video from Chevrolet in 1936 though is probably one of the most thorough and yet simple explanations of a transmission I have ever seen.
It looks like this is from the same series of films that produced the excellent piece on how a differential works, and to that end they present a great series of demonstrations and shots starting from the basics. As you watch the video, try to keep track of how many new things you actually learn. I'm not talking about the big stuff, either (i.e., yes you're learning how a transmissions works), but smaller things. Sure, I know what a gear is, but I had never really thought of a cog as a series of interlocking levers.
Like Ray said last time, maybe we need our automakers to be doing videos like this again.