Crosstown rivals General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. said today they have signed an agreement to jointly develop advanced nine-speed and 10-speed transmissions, a move that likely will save each company hundreds of millions of dollars and meet competitors' offerings faster.
"Ten-speeds put them ahead," said Jim Hall, analyst at 2953 Analytics LLP, in a telephone interview. "People now are working on eights and nines. Tens are on the bleeding-edge side."
The companies signed a memorandum of understanding in the fall. This is the third time GM and Ford have teamed up to co-develop and co-engineer transmissions in the past decade.
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