According to Meineke, most automobiles use a form of automatic transmission called a hydraulic

planetary automatic transmission, which is also used in a scaled-up version in some industrial and
commercial equipment and heavy-duty vehicles. The friction clutch is replaced by fluid coupling and
the system defines a set of gear ranges depending on the needs of the auto. When you put the
vehicle in park, all the gears lock to prevent the car from rolling forward or backward.

A less common option is the automated manual transmission (AMT). Sometimes called a semi-
automatic transmission, this model pairs the clutches and gears of a manual transmission with a set of
actuators, sensors, processors, and pneumatics. AMTs operate like an automatic while providing the
affordability and fuel-saving benefits of a manual transmission. With this type of transmission, the
driver can manually shift gears or opt for automatic shifting. Either way, he or she does not need to
use the clutch, which is operated by a hydraulic system.

General Motors and REO both released semi-automatic vehicle transmissions in 1934. These models
posed fewer challenges than the traditional manual transmission but still required the use of a clutch
to change gears. The GM transmission was the first of its kind to use a hydraulically controlled
planetary gearbox, allowing the gears to shift depending on the vehicle's travel speed.

The planetary transmission was one of the most important developments on the road to the modern
automatic transmission. Although GM was the first to use the version with hydraulic controls, this
technology actually dates to a 1900 invention by Wilson-Pilcher. That innovation consisted of four
forward gears on two trains that could be shifted with a single lever.

The most common type of automatic transmission uses hydraulic power to shift gears. According to
How Stuff Works, this device combines a torque or fluid coupling converter with gearsets that provide
the desired range of gears for the vehicle. The torque converter connects the engine to the
transmission and uses pressurized fluid to transfer power to the gears. This apparatus replaces a
manual friction clutch and lets the vehicle come to a complete stop without stalling.

Information from Art of Manliness depicts the operation of an automatic transmission. As the engine
transmits power to the pump of the torque converter, the pump converts this power into
transmission fluid that powers the turbine of the torque converter. This apparatus increases the
power of the fluid and transmits even more power back to the turbine, which creates a vortex power
rotation that spins the turbine and the attached central shaft. The power created by this rotation is
then transmitted from the shaft to the transmission's first planetary gear set.