Ford's vice-president of global powertrain engineering, confirmed that the Dearborn-headquartered automaker is developing an eight-speed automatic transmission, which is being designed, engineered and built by Ford in-house. Bakaj states that the fuel-saving eight-speed auto will offer "best-in-class" shift smoothness and responsiveness.
For Ford, there's at least one more transmission in the works. To be installed in Ford and Lincoln hybrid vehicles starting in late 2011, the Ford-designed, Ford-engineered and Ford-built e-CVT (electronic continuously variable transmission) will replace a similar unit currently made in Japan. As with the eight-speed trans, Ford says the e-CVT will offer improved performance and fuel efficiency. For reference, the current Fusion Hybrid hits a top speed of 47 miles per hour and travels up to one mile on electricity alone. However, Ford seems to be indicating that the upcoming e-CVT trans will lead to a boost in both of those numbers.
0 comments:
Post a Comment