The less there is of something, the more you want it. That is one of the many unwritten human principles that keep the world going. It could be said that it is applicable to, pretty much, anything. Especially when it comes to cars. It is a known fact that there is a limited amount of GT-R NISMO’s which are made every year. And the number of those that go to U.S. is even more limited.
October 21, 2014 turns out to be rather important for Nissan and even more memorable and significant for Winston-Salem, North Carolina, resident Matt McCulloh who received the first 2015 Nissan GT-R NISMO produced for the U.S. market.
McCulloh points out with extreme excitement that; “This car to me is like a brute-force tool. To me it is so purpose-built that I am going to do a lot of track.” He, then, continues and adds; “I’m going to really use this car as far as track, autocross, a little drag-strip – so, you know, track and getting to spend some time in this great garage that I have here now.”
It is intense, it is aggressive and, obviously, it is really wanted. With its screaming 600-horsepower, it becomes the most powerful and most desirable Nissan GT-R ever made. After all, it is quite an honor to have something that is of a limited edition. It kind of makes you feel more… special and valuable. One of a kind, just like the car. Almost (let’s not forget there are still a few more one-of-a-kinds who have been lucky enough to grab a hold of the limited 2015 Nissan GT-R NISMO).
Source: Nissan
Today we have a new type of transmission to consider and it is called a continuously variable transmission (CVT). A CVT is a type of automatic transmission but it operates very differently than older automatics. CVTs provide more useable power, better fuel economy and smoother driving than traditional automatic transmissions. CVTs have been around for years in motorized applications such as snowmobiles and off-road recreational vehicles, but just started to be used in regular automobiles a decade or so ago.Conventional automatic transmissions use sets of gears inside that provide different ratios or speeds. Control units sense speeds and shift a transmission’s gears automatically to provide the most appropriate ratio for a given driving situation: lowest gears for low speeds, middle gears for acceleration and passing, and higher gears for efficient cruising. This is visually indicated in most vehicles with a selector display (P-R-N-D-L).A CVT replaces the complex gears sets common in standard transmissions with two variable-diameter pulleys, each shaped like a pair of opposing cones, with a metal belt running between them. One pulley is connected to the engine, the other to the drive wheels. The way it works is that during operation the pulleys move in and out such that a drive belt between moves higher on one pulley, lower on the other. You can picture this roughly as the way a 10-speed bike works, by routing the chain over smaller or larger gears to change the gear ratios.The controls for a CVT-based car are the same as an automatic-based car: Two pedals (gas and brake) and a P-R-N-D-L-style shift pattern. When driving a car with a CVT, you won’t hear or feel the transmission shift, though. It simply raises and lowers the engine speed as needed, calling up higher engine speeds (or RPMs) for better acceleration and lower RPMs for better fuel economy while cruising. Many people find that driving a CVT-based automobile is a little disconcerting because of the sound it makes. When you push hard on the accelerator, the engine races a bit as it would with a slipping clutch or a failing automatic transmission. This is normal, the CVT is simply adjusting itself to provide optimal power for acceleration.Engines do not develop constant power at all speeds; they have specific speeds where either torque, horsepower or fuel efficiency are at their optimum levels. Because a CVT can theoretically adjust to any gear ratio, engineers can program it to give maximum performance during all these situations. For example, when power is needed, or maximum fuel-economy is desired, a CVT can adjust to those conditions more accurately than a standard automatic transmission.The CVT’s biggest problem has been user acceptance. Because the CVT allows the engine to rotate at any speed, the noises coming from under the hood can sound odd to ears accustomed to conventional automatic transmissions. The gradual changes in engine note sound like something is “slipping”– signs of trouble with a conventional transmission, but perfectly normal for a CVT. Automakers have gone to great lengths to make the CVT feel more like a conventional transmission.Because early automotive CVTs were limited as to how much horsepower they could handle, there has been some concern about the long-term reliability of the CVT. This has not proven to be a problem, though. Advanced technology has made the CVT quite robust and reliable. Nissan has more than a million CVTs in service around the world and says their long-term reliability is comparable to conventional transmissions.The future of the CVT remains to be seen. In spite of the obvious efficiencies of CVTs, customers can be fickle and may prefer and older technology. We will likely see how CVT transmissions fare over the next few years or so.
With this teaser image 
