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If the Chevy Express and GMC Savana live forever, as it appears the negligibly senescent vans might, then an era is coming when GM sells products with both four- and ten-speed automatic transmissions. General Motors is in the early stages of a deal with Ford to jointly develop automatic gearboxes with eight, nine, or even ten forward gears. Speaking with us about a story originally broken by the New York Times, GM powertrain spokesman Dan Flores confirmed that General Motors and Ford are signing an MOU [memorandum of understanding; it's like a pre-contract] to "develop a variety of all-new fuel-efficient transmissions." The companies are still in discussions, and Flores believes they will make a formal announcement soon. Detroit's two largest automakers have a recent history of collaborating on automatic transmissions. In 2002, the two companies began joint work on a six-speed automatic gearbox that ultimately was used in millions of vehicles, among them the Chevy Malibu and Pontiac G6 and the Ford Fusion and Lincoln MKX. But it's not a sure thing that the new gearboxes will head straight to family sedans again. While four-door cruisers and small SUVs might need eight or ten gears to present themselves as technologically up-to-date—Dodge's Dart will get ZF's nine-speed auto eventually, and Hyundai is working on a tenner—the most sensible case could be for the companies' big SUVs and trucks. These are leviathans where a five-percent improvement in gas consumption doesn't just translate to better TV commercials, but can also have a meaningful impact in rear-world numbers. Chrysler has already launched a ZF-designed eight-speed automatic in its Ram 1500 line. Read full story » from Car and Driver Blog http://blog.caranddriver.com | |||
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Monday, October 1, 2012
GM and Ford to Collaborate on 8-to-10-Speed Automatic Transmissions
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