CVT

Like it or not: Nearly every new vehicle—we're talking around 95 percent—has an automatic transmission of some sort. And manual transmissions are rare today, except among a few performance-oriented models. That's the obvious. What might not be so apparent to new-car shoppers is that the...Read More»

The 2015 Subaru WRX is one of this year’s standout new performance cars. And if you’re considering putting one of these affordable all-wheel-drive sport sedans in your driveway, you have a fundamental choice to make: Do you go with the six-speed manual, or the so-called Lineartronic...Read More»

Over the next several years—and spearheaded by the 2013 Honda Accord that’s already at dealerships—Honda plans to introduce an entire lineup of new fuel-saving Earth Dreams engines and transmissions in its cars. That includes a range of next-generation direct-injection engines...Read More»

Honda says that it's turning to continuously variable automatic transmissions (CVTs) for its all-new 2013 Accord for one very important reason: gas mileage. Just as Nissan has proven with its lineup of mostly CVT-equipped passenger cars and crossovers, these transmissions typically do better at the...Read More»

For most new-car shoppers, continuously variable automatic transmissions (CVTs) make a lot of sense. They’re smooth and fuel-efficient; they help get the most acceleration out of engines; and they allow low-rpm cruising. Compared to conventional automatics, they’re also less expensive...Read More»

The 2012 Nissan Versa sedan represents a ground-up redesign, and Nissan wants you to know that it’s got the lowest starting MSRP in America. There’s fine print to that, and Nissan is quick to point out that their referenced price of $10,990 is actually set by the dealer, and that the...Read More»

Subaru will, over the next year, begin introducing a new line of four-cylinder engines that will be ten percent more fuel-efficient than the ones they replace. The 2011 Forester first gets the all-new mill, with the Impreza, Legacy, and Outback to follow, perhaps for 2012. Although Subaru's current...Read More»

For the 2011 model year Nissan has sharpened the exterior, upgraded the interior, and improved the fuel economy of its Rogue crossover, but thankfully pricing has remained almost unchanged. Yes, the 2011 Nissan Rogue comes onto the market with a base price of $20,810, just $350 more than the...Read More»

We’ve seen it in concept form, we’ve reported on all the specs, we’ve even taken a spin in it and reported on that too, but now we finally have pricing details for the new 2010 Suzuki Kizashi sedan so we can add that to the list as well. Set to go on sale this December, the new...Read More»

For 2010, Chrysler has slimmed down the choices on its Dodge Caliber hatchback and spiffed up the interior, to make the car more competitive with the best of its class. It now offers just two engines and two transmissions, slightly improving the gas mileage. We've never rated the Caliber...Read More»

If you want to get an automatic transmission—as most car shoppers prefer—on a Nissan, you'll most likely end up with a CVT. That's, to put it as simply as possible, a belt-and-pulley system rather than gears and hydraulics. Nissan has just announced that the CVT it uses across most of its...Read More»