"I couldn't possibly fail to disagree with you less."
13 May 2008Gearing up and/or down
As we reported last month, it appears BMW and Audi, following the lead of Lexus, will begin to offer eight-speed automatic transmissions in their flagship models.
And seen at Autoblog, an hour and a half later:
When the second quarter of 2010 rolls along, 1,400 workers at General Motors' Windsor [Ontario] transmission factory will be out of work. The plant, which currently produces four-speed gearboxes for GM, will be phased out at the turn of the decade, with no plans to retool the facility to produce any other components.
To recap: The Japanese are already doing 8-speed automatics, and the Germans will follow; the Americans are just now getting around to disposing of 4-speed automatics. This isn't entirely fair to the General — Toyota still sells econoboxes in the States with only four cogs — but this doesn't help Detroit's image as technological laggards. Posted at 11:51 AM to Driver's Seat |