The first thing that had to happen for automatics to get closer to manuals in fuel economy was an improvement in automatic transmission design. Advances like variable line pressure and the addition of more than four forward gears were far too long in coming to mass-market vehicles in this country. But, five- and six-speed autoboxes are finally becoming the norm. Even the retro four-speed automatics many domestics saddle their low-end models with now have variable line pressure, which reduces the amount of power needed to drive the transmission. All these improvements lead to better efficiency and reduced fuel consumption.

But the key, as with so many modern advances, has been in the software controlling the engine/transmission relationship. Old transmissions used a vacuum modulator and a mechanical governor to adjust shift points. New electronically controlled automatics take advantage of vast improvements in processor power to tailor shifts, internal pressures, and torque converter lockup to extract the maximum amount of efficiency possible. The engine helps, though: Cylinder deactivation, like Chrysler's MDS and GM's Active Fuel Management, only works effectively through constant communication with the transmission's requirements. You don't feel any of it happening: You just notice that your new automatic car gets close to the same mileage as your old 5-speed manual beater.

So, Rex Roy, we agree that automatics have made exponential improvements in recent years. But let's not give short shrift to the software wizardry and all the black boxes that allow an engine and a transmission to function as an integrated modern powertrain. [Detroit News; Photo Credit: ZF]