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Last summer CEO Dan Akerson told employees that the company was behind its competitors in engines and transmissions, saying that GM has six-speed transmissions when competitors have up to 10 gears. Transmissions with more gears allow engines to do less work and save fuel...
...The investments are part of $1.5 billion that GM plans to spend on its North American factories this year. So far the company has announced projects totaling $1.2 billion in the U.S. Another $250 million was announced for a GM assembly plant in Ingersoll, Canada.
The investments announced Thursday include:
— $215 million for the Flint Engine Operations in Flint, Mich., where the new three- and four-cylinder engines will be built. The plant also will get upgraded machinery for a V-6 engine that it currently builds.
— $55.7 million for Toledo Transmission Operations in Toledo, Ohio, to build a new eight-speed transmission and expand capacity to build an existing six-speed transmission. The new transmission will be used in "numerous" GM vehicles by the end of 2016, the company said in a statement.
— $31.7 million for a powertrain plant in Bay City, Mich., north of Detroit, to build parts for a new V-6 engine and components for new small engines.
— $29.4 million for a metal castings plant in Bedford, Ind., to make parts for small engines and for the new eight-speed and existing six-speed automatic transmissions.
GM already has announced that the new Cadillac CTS luxury sports sedan, due out later this year, will have an eight-speed automatic transmission that initially will be built by an outside company. The CTS also will get a new twin-turbo V-6 engine. New full-size Chevrolet and GMC pickup trucks that arrive late this spring also are expected to get eight-speed transmissions at a later date.
There's a montage floating around somewhere on YouTube of GM CEO's and other executives saying for the past 40 years that they've "caught up" with the competition.
There's a montage floating around somewhere on YouTube of GM CEO's and other executives saying for the past 40 years that they've "caught up" with the competition.
I haven't seen it.
For years GM powertrain plants have had banners saying: "Best Powertrains"...
Eh, this number of gears in a tranny is getting out of hand. It wasn't that long ago that the 4 spd auto was the norm, probably late 90's early 00's. Then the 5 spd, then the 6 spd... Honestly, a vehicles powerband and speed range are limited. It makes no sense for most cars to have anything over 6 spds, because they either can't go fast enough on the top end to take advantage of extra gears, or the gas mileage increase will be miniscule by offering another gear, certainly not enough to make a noticeable difference.
6 speed transmissions are perfectly fine for vehicles going up to 180-200mph. Any more than that in your average sedan that can go 140-150 is just silly.
Eh, this number of gears in a tranny is getting out of hand. It wasn't that long ago that the 4 spd auto was the norm, probably late 90's early 00's. Then the 5 spd, then the 6 spd... Honestly, a vehicles powerband and speed range are limited. It makes no sense for most cars to have anything over 6 spds, because they either can't go fast enough on the top end to take advantage of extra gears, or the gas mileage increase will be miniscule by offering another gear, certainly not enough to make a noticeable difference.
6 speed transmissions are perfectly fine for vehicles going up to 180-200mph. Any more than that in your average sedan that can go 140-150 is just silly.
Quote:
The goal of the new transmission technologies *– both automatics, by the way – is twofold: greater fuel economy and a more refined driving experience. The "refinement" here has to do with less noise and vibration, most likely, as the many-ratio transmissions have to rev less than they would with fewer forward gears.
A good 6 speed auto is free of vibration and noise. Hell, a lot of them you can't even tell when it shifts unless you are watching the rpm gauge.
As far as revving less... that's a bunch of crap. Engineers already design 6 speeds today to be at a low rpm at highway speed. The Corvette for example, at 65-70mph in 6th gear, it's at 1500rpm. Being at 1200 or 1300 rpm isn't going to make a lick of difference.
The only thing a 9 or 10 speed transmission truly offers is more parts to break and more things to go wrong.
I think GM's engines are overall in good position, especially with V6 and V8s. I don't think anyone is really impressed with their 4 cylinder engines - so that is where they probably need to do better.
I don't think adding speeds to their automatics is all that interesting in the long run. They still need to get even better at combustion efficiency, size, and weight.
Can you imagine the repair cost for an 8-speed automatic? Might as well junk the car if it goes out.
Heck most 6 speeds out there today are too "busy", they quickly race up to the highest gear, then immediately need to go back down to 5th for more power, then back up... It's kinda annoying.
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