The Torque-Drive Transmission: Chevy’s Manually-Shifted Automatic

Car manufacturers have always been looking for ways to make their cars more cost-efficient and customer-friendly, developing less expensive car components (engine, gearbox, etc.) in hope to increase the take rate of their products. The history of auto industry knows a lot of cases when such approach turned out to be a complete flop. In this article, we go back to 1968 when Chevrolet released its semi-automatic transmission named “Torque-Drive” . In fact, this unit was developed on the basis of an upgraded Powerglide transmission and could only be operated by a driver.

Torque-Drive transmission

The engineering structure of this unit included a torque converter and a 2-speed planetary gear set. It was intended for all Camaro and Chevy II models. The primary mission of Chevrolet engineers was to create a gear shifting solution that would become a less expensive alternative to the Powerglide unit. In fact, the Torque-Drive unit was still a Powerglide without the valve body and shift solenoids. The lack of these elements eliminated the automatic gear shifting capacity. But at the same time, this design allowed engineers to reduce production expenses of the unit and its selling price – only $68.65, in 1968.

It should be pointed out that the gear-change lever in cars that came with the Torque-Drive unit was installed on the steering column with 5 shifting positions (P, R, N, Hi, and 1-st).

The driver started moving at 1st gear, and when it was necessary to switch gear, he moved the lever to Hi gear. If the driver didn’t want to trouble himself with a tricky process of gear shifting, it was possible to drive only in Hi gear. Finally, it was recommended that 1-st gear should only be engaged at speeds up to 20 mph, while shifting from Hi to 1st gear at speeds above 55 mph may lead to the gearbox damage.

For better or worse, the Torque-Drive unit didn’t last long. It is said that Chevrolet manufactured approximately 14,000 controversial transmission units, which then got lost as a passing reference in the history of the auto industry.