Automatic transmissions are pretty self-explanatory, and for the most part, fairly foolproof. Most of us will be familiar with the usual settings found on an automatic shifter, with P, R, N, and D ...

For most drivers, a vehicle's automatic transmission — the most common kind of transmission nowadays, more's the pity — has three settings: Drive, Park, and Reverse. Most automatic transmissions, ...

The manual transmission is starting to go the way of the dodo, although there are still several new cars, trucks, and SUVs you can buy that have a stick shift — and, of course, used options abound.