<div class="htmlview paragraph"><b>THE author takes the viewpoint that no matter what improvements are made in countershaft transmissions, they can never fully answer the demand for smooth starting and speed changing without interruption of power, because the basic principle of shifting gears is inferior to engagement by frictional means.</b></div> <div class="htmlview paragraph"><b>Planetary gearing, he explains, has had to wait until the necessary know-how and new developments in hydraulic operation and control, and new friction materials, could be perfected.</b></div> <div class="htmlview paragraph"><b>Now, he says, the superior advantages of this balanced type of gearing can be exploited, for new materials, in addition to new design ideas, now guarantee long life of brakes and clutches.</b></div>