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Industry News:Quote »What do you get when you toss two of the US's biggest automakers together and throw $720 million at the venture? In April, as previously announced in October of 2002, Ford and GM reminded us they are shooting for a 6-speed automatic transmission for their front wheel drive vehicles to make them more fuel-efficient. Plans are for vehicles to start appearing with them in 2005. Initially both companies set out to independently research and develop the transmission at their own facilities. But in an effort to keep costs low and to help them compete against Chrysler and foreign automakers, GM and Ford decided to put their heads together and each chip in. Because GM was a few months ahead of Ford in the game, they're going with a GM design. However, though combining their efforts, each will manufacture the gearboxes at their own factories to accommodate the specifics of their vehicles. It's also good news for folks in Michigan and Ohio- there's going to about 1100 jobs added to GM and Ford plants in the region. And, with skyrocketing fuel prices, the 6-speed transmission will be a win for consumers as well as GM and Ford.Speaking of teaming up, looks like Nissan still plans on using the Toyota developed hybrid system to unleash their own line of hybrids onto the market in 2006. According to a March 2004 article in the SEMA News, while they're moving forward with creating an Altima-based hybrid, Nissan is hedging their bets a little and don't think the cost of a hybrid necessarily equals the value. In the meantime, Nissan will be working on developing a hybrid system of their own while also teaming up with Renault to create a cleaner burning diesel engine.

wow! it must be freezing cold in hell right now!

ROFL! Yeah...so cold, the pigs are flying south...

Quote, originally posted by ragingfish »ROFL! Yeah...so cold, the pigs are flying south...haha... well I thought I'd never see the day. Guess the Leaf's will win the cup next season.

Quote, originally posted by Mavrik »haha... well I thought I'd never see the day. Guess the Leaf's will win the cup next season.hey, lets not push it! i would have never expected this to happen.would a 6 spd auto also mean the possibility of more time in the power band?

If you look at what Honda has already done in the auto tranny dept, you'd see that they are years beyond a 6 speed auto. They have developed a Continuously Variable Transmission for the hybrids. So it's much like driving a a golf cart! When GM or Ford finally puts a good transmission in their hybrids, then they will get my attention.

Quote, originally posted by ebslopp »If you look at what Honda has already done in the auto tranny dept, you'd see that they are years beyond a 6 speed auto. They have developed a Continuously Variable Transmission for the hybrids. So it's much like driving a a golf cart! When GM or Ford finally puts a good transmission in their hybrids, then they will get my attention.Problem is, CVT's can't handle the torque of bigger motors. Audi has a CVT that can handle 200HP, and that is about the upper limit at the moment.

Quote, originally posted by futseal04 »Problem is, CVT's can't handle the torque of bigger motors. Audi has a CVT that can handle 200HP, and that is about the upper limit at the moment.That's true, but by the time that GM and Ford complete their 6-speed auto and implement it in a vehicle the CVT will see some improvements. It will be interesting to see what they come up with.

Quote, originally posted by ebslopp »If you look at what Honda has already done in the auto tranny dept, you'd see that they are years beyond a 6 speed auto. They have developed a Continuously Variable Transmission for the hybrids. So it's much like driving a a golf cart! When GM or Ford finally puts a good transmission in their hybrids, then they will get my attention.GM has a CVT transmission too. This is a great plan for GM and Ford, and it is a wonder why nobody thought of it sooner! Nobody really sees the transmission, and they really only care about the numbe of gear ratios in it. So if they jointly develop it, they can put more money into it to engineer it better, and still save money on the effort.

And Ford is going to have a CVT as an option in the Ford 500/Mercury Montego and the Ford Freestyle. I believe it's also going to be an option for the Escape hybrid, but I'm not certain about that.

i went to school with a guy that developed a gear based CVT (instead of a belt based version that all are using now). He ended up winning the Ontario Engineering competition with his prototype design (had it all constructed and machined and mounted in a clear plexiglass cube so that you could see it work!) back in 1996.Word had it he accepted a job with GM the next year when he graduated...bringing along his design. I'm still waiting to see what comes of it....

Quote, originally posted by Fformula88 »GM has a CVT transmission too. Last I heard, GM had halted production due to longevity issues. They put them in the Saturn Vue and they where failing after an unacceptable lifespan.Nissan has a CVT in the Murano - haven't heard anything about it's performance / lifespan though. I'd say no news is good news in a case like this - they must have got it right.

Quote, originally posted by Mavrik »haha... well I thought I'd never see the day. Guess the Leaf's will win the cup next season.And the Cubbies will win the WORLD SERIES!

just for fun go to a dodge dealer and look at the intrepid we all know that chrysler is a german owned company,but did you know that the intrepid is made in canada and sold only in the u.s. look at the sticker on the window(you have to look close) it states(this car is not to be sold or tiled in canada) and they built it, humm?

Quote, originally posted by kostby »And the Cubbies will win the WORLD SERIES!And the Saints wil win the Super Bowl !!!

It's the Chrysler Intrepid up north, eh... Pretty much the same car, just with Chrysler badges on it.

OH NO Please anyone but FORD, for the love of GOD NO!!!!

Quote, originally posted by vibepa »OH NO Please anyone but FORD, for the love of GOD NO!!!!I do agree. But if I had to rank the companies by how mcuh I hate them, I'd rather see Ford team up to take down DCX...I HATE DCX...

I like DCX, the new 300C is so nice it makes nice look bad