GM And Ford To Co-Develop Nine And Ten Speed Transmissions

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.

ErnestHouse - 4/15/2013 11:28:24 AM

+1 Boost

Our ears and eyes can only detect to a certain level of resolution. At one point are there so many speeds it's the same as a CVT?