{"id":947,"date":"2025-07-23T11:50:36","date_gmt":"2025-07-23T11:50:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/?p=947"},"modified":"2025-07-23T11:50:36","modified_gmt":"2025-07-23T11:50:36","slug":"why-some-high-performance-transmissions-are-called-dog-boxes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/?p=947","title":{"rendered":"Why Some High-Performance Transmissions Are Called Dog Boxes"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s finally happened. You have the chance to drive your dream car, which, for the sake of this example, we’re saying is a 1987\u00a0Lamborghini Countach, a car so cool that “60 Minutes” once did an episode on its unhinged testing procedures<\/a>. Getting in takes some contortion, but when you finally get seated, you’re greeted by that gorgeous gated shifter.<\/p>\n

This’s when you notice something odd. There’s a little metal tab blocking the first gear slot. As you go to move the shift lever into “first,” the owner, who wisely decided to supervise, slaps your hand and tells you, “That’s reverse! First gear is down and to the left. It’s got a dog box!” You hadn’t noticed the shift pattern, embossed on the knob.<\/p>\n

Ah, yes, the dog box, or as it’s also called, the dogleg shifter. It’s called a dogleg because the pattern going from first to second gear is a similar shape to a dog’s hind leg. Now, cats have the same rear leg shape, so why settle on dogs for the comparison? Probably because people would look at you funny if you said your Lamborghini had a “cat box.” You’d probably get air fresheners as gifts for a while.<\/p>\n

Dog boxes are common in older performance cars because that’s the pattern race car transmissions used to use. At least, it was common back when race cars still mostly used manual gearboxes. By putting first gear down and left, this puts the uber-important second and third gears in a direct line. Second and third are used far more often in racing, because first is generally for starting out and not much after that.<\/p>\n

Read more:\u00a0These Are The Worst American Cars Ever Made<\/a><\/p>\n

A Dog Box Can Put You In The Doghouse In Daily Driving<\/h2>\n
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