A transaxle combines the transmission with the driveshaft and is commonly found in front-wheel drive vehicles. It can be found in both manual and automatic versions and has no driveshaft to wear out. The Volkswagen Beetle was one of the earliest versions of the transaxle, and the Cord 810 was one of the first American vehicles to use it. With fuel shortages in the 1970s, automakers began introducing front-wheel drive vehicles, which are now widely accepted.
A transaxle is most commonly found on a front-wheel drive vehicle. This component combines the transmission with the driveshaft, hence the term transaxle. This component can be found on both stick shift and automatic versions and with any four to eight cylinder engine. There are also rear-engine transmission units found in exotic sports cars like a Porsche and Lamborghini, as well as large vehicles like a Greyhound bus.
Perhaps one of the earliest versions of the transaxle was found in the Volkswagen Beetle. This air-cooled, rear-engined small car was one of the best-selling and most-produced vehicles of all time, surpassing Henry Ford’s Model T. The Beetle’s success was responsible for General Motors’ attempt at an air-cooled rear-end engine in the 1960s, the Chevrolet Corvair. In a rollover test, it was determined that the Corvair rolled over too easily, and the vehicle was discontinued after much public debate.
One advantage of running a transaxle is that there is no driveshaft to wear out or chatter. By coupling the engine directly to the transaxle, the entire drive train of a vehicle can be removed as a complete unit. This makes repair and replacement an easy procedure. In a front wheel drive vehicle, the only limitation to the power that the transaxle can handle is the ability of the steering knuckle to handle the power without breaking.
One of the first American vehicles to use the transaxle was the Cord 810. This vehicle was touted as being well ahead of its time and was short-lived despite above-average performance. The front-wheel drive car was absent from the United States auto manufacturing scene after the Cordon’s demise until 1966 when the Oldsmobile Toronado made its debut. The first attempt at a front-wheel drive race car came in 1924 with the Miller 122. This vehicle had minimal success at the Indianapolis 500.
Faced with fuel shortages of the 1970s, automakers in the United States and others around the world began introducing newly designed front-wheel drive vehicles in the late 1970s. Although widely hailed as throwaway vehicles, Small front-wheel drive vehicles began to catch on, and as quality improved, the general public began to accept them as legitimate cars. Today, all vehicle manufacturers around the world have front-wheel drive vehicles in their new car lines.
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