#1, a front wheel drive transverse transmission also contains the differential assembly.
Either a transverse engine for front wheel drive cars (and the occasional rear engine, rear wheel drive car), or a longitudinal engine for front/mid-engine, rear wheel drive cars.
More weight over the drive wheels = better traction with front wheel drive.
It's actually four wheel drive, but uses a transverse engine with a transaxle... it's basically a front wheel drive vehicle plus a transfer case.
A rear wheel drive vehicle transmission has everything in a straight line . A Transverse mounted transmission has the gears made after the torque convertor at a 90 degree angle. (L shaped)
Yes. The Passat has always been a front wheel drive car (though some models had the option of a synchronized four wheel drive) with a transverse engine and transaxle.
An I4 is cheaper because it has one cylinder head instead of two. Also, it takes less fore-aft space in the engine compartment of transverse engine, front drive cars.
No, not feasibly. Front wheel drive cars typically have a transverse engine (as opposed to a longitudinal engine found in rear wheel drive cars) and a transmission with a different output location that that found on a rear wheel drive car... I won't say such a conversion is impossible, but it's highly impractical.
Yes.
Your Neon is front-wheel drive and doesn't have a transmission, it makes use of a transaxle mated to a transverse-mounted (sideways) engine. A Dakota is rear or four wheel drive and uses a conventional transmission mated to a conventionally mounted engine. Totally incompatible.
Not easily. The 940 engine is a 4 cylinder rear wheel drive that is oriented front to back. The 850 engine is a transverse 5 cylinder front wheel drive. The transmission/transaxle in the two are very different.
Depends on what the car is. You pretty much have two basic options... transverse engines, where the cylinders go from side to side, and they either connect to a transaxle where the drive axle is directly under the engine (.e.g, front engine, front wheel drive cars or rear engine, rear wheel drive cars) or you'll have a longitudinal engine, where the cylinders align front to back, that'll connect to a transmission, and that'll connect to a driveshaft to the rear axle.