GM, Ford To Collaborate On Advanced 10-Speed Transmission

Two of Detroit's "Big 3" automakers announced on Monday an agreement to jointly develop new 9- and 10-speed automatic transmissions. General Motors and Ford Motor Company will collaborate on advanced transmissions that will be used on both front and rear-wheel drive vehicles across both automakers' lineups, including trucks and SUVs.

While these crosstown rivals typically enter the ring as competitors, this is not the first time the automakers have employed the tag-team method when developing transmissions. Ford and GM have collaborated on transmissions 3 times over the past decade, most recently working conjointly on the 6-speed automatic transmission shown above.

The new transmissions are expected to yield gains in both fuel economy and performance, as is typically the case with gearboxes that offer more ratios.

"The goal is to keep hardware identical in the Ford and GM transmissions. This will maximize parts commonality and give both companies economy of scale," said Craig Renneker, Ford's Chief Engineer for transmission, driveline component and pre-program engineering. "However, we will each use our own control software to ensure that each transmission is carefully matched to the individual brand-specific vehicle DNA for each company."

GM's VP of Global Transmission Engineering Jim Lanzon added, "we expect these new transmissions to raise the standard of technology, performance and quality for our customers while helping drive fuel economy improvements into both companies' future product portfolios."

The new 9- and 10-speed transmissions will help Ford and GM catch up on the competition, many of whom are already offering 8- or 9-speed automatic transmissions in their vehicles. GM recently announced an 8-speed transmission on their forthcoming 2014 Cadillac CTS.