"Sure it's "only one component" but you 5/3rd'ed the number of moving parts in it." The ZF 8 Speed Automatic actually has less moving parts than the ZF 6 speed

"Sure it's "only one component" but you 5/3rd'ed the number of moving parts in it." The ZF 8 Speed Automatic actually has less moving parts than the ZF 6 speed automatic it replaced.... And the it has proven to be one of the most reliable automatic transmissions produced. The old 4, and 5 speed transmissions are notoriously unreliable. "They don't make a "big" difference. If they made a "big" difference you'd have seen them decades ago. We've had the tech for as long as we've had automatic transmissions. More gears is just more stacked planetary gearsets." I guess I just don't understand your argument. Are you saying these new transmissions don't make a difference because they didn't do it earlier? Even though fuel economy testing proves they clearly do make a difference.... And these new transmissions most certainly are not "just more stacked planetary gearsets". There has been decades of technology and efficiency improvements integrated into these new transmissions. I'm quite certain the transmission control module and shift programming, clutch packs and materials, etc. are different than an old 4 speed transmission.