TRANSAXLES - What is a transaxle and is it a smart choice? Here are the nuts and bolts of it

摘要

AS major components in a car go, the transaxle is one of your more humble concepts. Even the word transaxle is a combination of 'transmission' and 'axle'. See? Easy. It is, quite simply, a transmission, differential and drive axle all packaged into a single component. But why would you want to combine a gearbox with a diff and final-drive axle in the first place? It's the best way to package a car where the engine is at the same end as the drive wheels. It's the common alternative to spacing the driveline out along the length of the car in a traditional engine-gearbox-diff way. The master-stroke of packaging that was the original Mini is the most famous example and its front-engine, front-drive layout set a trend that continues to this day. Still, the 1914 Stutz Bearcat is the first reference to a production transaxle we can find.