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Hi,
From thecarconnection.com . See the text between the <<< and >>> below:
GM, FORD TO GET TOGETHER ON GEARBOX
Rivals GM and Ford said a new generation of large front-drive sedans and car-based SUVs coming mid-decade will be driven by a more fuel efficient six-speed transmission the two will jointly develop to save money.
The agreement, hardly imaginable a decade ago given the companies' competitive posture toward one another when it comes to under-the-hood technology, shows the enormous pressure automakers are under to cut costs and raise fuel economy.
"We were going to spend hundreds of millions on this, and we figured Ford was too," said GM's powertrain chief, who reached out to Ford last January to initiate the deal. The transmission, a GM design that a joint group of engineers from both companies will develop, is meant to improve fuel economy of V-6 and V-8-powered vehicles by between four and eight percent, compared with the four-speed transmissions the companies build today. Ford will pay GM a per-unit royalty once the transmission comes to market because of the work GM has already done on the design. Only the base transmission design will be common. Each company will have powertrains that are distinct in feel and performance, since the transmissions will be mated to different engines, and the respective vehicle programs will have unique performance dynamics and calibration. Each company is responsible for integrating the transmission into its own vehicles.
It is the first such deal between the two big rivals, and the first for Ford with another automaker it didn't own at least a piece of. GM, though, has several such deals with its Asian and European rivals. GM, for example, builds the Pontiac Vibe in California at a joint-venture plant it owns with Toyota, and it contains many Toyota-derived parts. <<<GM also buys V-6 engines from Honda that will go into the Saturn VUE, and it sells transmissions to BMW for its 3-Series and 5-Series.>>>
GM and Ford executives said the transmission deal could spark additional joint development projects between the two, such as developing key components for hydrogen-powered vehicles. "This could open doors [to other projects,]" said Ford Powertrain chief Dave Szczupak. The companies say they will produce hundreds of thousands of the transmissions per year, achieving economies of scale that would have been hard to reach on their own. Neither company plans to make a new passenger car that would sell a half-million units a year as they once did. Ford spokesman Ray Day said the transmission would not work its way into some of the future products Ford has shown already, such as the Ford Five Hundred. —Jim Burt
later,
tony
01 9³ SE Conv 5psd
posted by 4.61.22...
, Fri, 11 Oct 2002 13:21:58
, Mon, 14 Oct 2002 10:30:30
, Sat, 12 Oct 2002 13:42:26
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