On Sun, 14 Aug 2005 12:22:16 +0100, "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:

Perhaps you'd name a car sold in the UK in the '20s with an auto box?

What's an "auto" box?

One that selects gear ratios automatically? One with clutchless
changes? A CVT ? One with a fluid flywheel / torque converter ?

Now it's generally agreed that "auto boxes" as we really know them began
in the USA in the late '30s, but the components are older than this.
Wilson pre-selectors were almost commonplace in the '20s. Sperber had a
silent-chain drive box (think post-89 Rangerover transfer box) with
column switch selection of ratio. Lanchester had an epicyclic box and
experimented with automatic ratio selection. Daimler also had their
noted fondness for fluid flywheels. Down in the lightweight cyclecars
there were also several examples of simple CVTs, either rubber band and
expanding pulley (DAF system) or with other forms of sliding-ball
variable gear drives.