Transmissions are not mysterious mechanical devices. They help transfer and manage the power from the engine to the wheels, and the number of gears they contain has little to do with how powerful or fast a particular model is. Slate appears to have overlooked this fact.

An article about the Bentley Flying Spur crash at the US-Canada border raised the question, “Why would an automaker manufacture a car with so much engine power that it requires an eight-speed transmission?” However, this perception misunderstands the function of transmissions.