Automotive News - November 10, 2008 - (Page 22h) 22H • NOVEMBER 10, 2008 INSIGHT Carmakers shift to gears in search of mpg gains John Couretas autonews@crain.com Powertrain engineers long have concentrated on improving the efficiency of engines. Now they are focusing more of their efforts on the gearbox in the quest to boost fuel economy and reduce tailpipe emissions. Tweaking designs can provide in- cremental gains, while new types of transmissions promise major savings. But any major shift from one type of transmission to another runs up against formidable obstacles: consumer preferences, local driving conditions and huge investments in installed manufacturing capacity. For example, the continuously vari- Shift in shifters The push for greater fuel economy will bring changes in the transmissions in American cars. TRANSMISSION 2014 MARKET SHARE 2007 Automatic Manual Continuously variable Dual clutch Source: CSM Worldwide 73% 10% 9% 8% 82% 11% 7% negligible “DOWN-SIZING” OR “RIGHT-SIZING”? ACCORDING TO NEW STUDY, CAR BUYERS SAY “BOTH.” Acxiom’s Automotive Consumer Dynamics study helps marketers pinpoint target buyers. For a complimentary subscription, visit www.acxiom.com today. able transmission has made significant inroads in Japan and South Korea, where smaller economy cars with low-torque engines and congested urban areas are more the norm. The CVT has made relatively little headway in North America, which is likely to remain an automatic-transmission market for the foreseeable future. In Europe, the venerable manual transmission holds on. The dualclutch transmission is a new entry that shows early promise in a number of markets. A dual-clutch transmission, above, has potential for reducing fuel use by holding the engine at its optimal operating range, looking at a power-assisted clutch for six-speed gearboxes that will allow for a “softer” pedal. Vahabzadeh said this is aimed at higher-torque engine configurations that require stiffer clutches. Still, no single transmission type is likely to be the answer to fuel economy goals in North America or elsewhere. “It’s not like there’s one silver bullet that can accomplish this all,” said David Petrovski, a transmission analyst with CSM Worldwide in Detroit. In North America, CSM forecasts that the traditional automatic transmission’s share of the market will slip from 82 percent today to 73 percent by 2014. Manual transmissions, CSM says, will be off a point of market share to 10 percent over the same six-year period. By 2014, continuously variable transmissions will gain two points of share to 9 percent in North America. More six-speeds General Motors has a tremendous effort under way to launch more sixspeed transmissions in place of fourspeeds because they can deliver 4 to 6 percent improved fuel economy depending on the engine they are mated with and the vehicle application. “Everybody’s looking at them because of the high potential for fuel economy gains as well as improved driving quality,” said Hamid Vahabzadeh, general director of advanced engineering at General Motors Powertrain. In 2006, GM began an aggressive rollout of six-speed transmissions that feature a wider overall gear ratio with smaller step sizes between gears. The idea is to offer a smoother launch from a standing start, improve shift smoothness all the way to high gear and deliver optimal engine performance at each step. By 2010, GM plans to have 10 variants of the six-speed in 75 models and total annual production of more than 3 million units. All will be made by the automaker. Because of the Swiss-watch complexity of automatic-transmission systems and their extensive software development and sophisticated controls, many of the refinements are taking place in highly technical areas such as torque-converter blade design, lightweight magnesium housings and faster heating of transmission fluid to get it up to operating temperature even on short trips. Together, these improvements can boost fuel economy significantly. The Premier Automotive Technology Event Dual-clutch upshift Dual-clutch transmissions, now a negligible share of the market, are expected to show the fastest growth, climbing to 8 percent share during that same period. The dual-clutch transmission employs two manual gearboxes in one housing and works as a single unit. No clutch pedal is needed. Drivers can control the shifting manually or set it at fully automatic. Dual-clutch transmissions have “significant potential” for reducing fuel consumption by holding the engine at its optimal operating range, Alistair Hill, technical editor with the London research group SupplierBusiness, wrote in a February report. But to date, dual-clutch gearboxes “have failed to meet performance and weight targets.” Dual-clutch transmissions are of two types: dry and wet. Dry clutches are more common and may show very fast clutch wear, Hill said. On the other hand, dry clutches are less costly to manufacture and can deliver better fuel economy. Wet clutches, while able to handle higher torque loads, are both expensive and complicated, Hill said. In April, Getrag Corporate Group, of Untergruppenbach, Germany, and Chrysler LLC announced the investment of $455 million in a new plant in Tipton, Ind., to produce 700,000 wet dual-clutch transmissions annually for the automaker. Getrag said the dualclutch transmissions “consume 4 to 12 percent less fuel compared with existing torque-converter automatics.” But in early October, Chrysler sued Getrag, seeking damages because the supplier allegedly didn’t secure financing for the project. Getrag disputes the claim, saying it was “stunned” by the Chrysler lawsuit.c Unnoticeable At the same time, the enhancements must be imperceptible to the driver. “Our objective is for the driver not to feel anything,” Vahabzadeh said. GM is also developing an eightspeed automatic transmission. But because of the greater complexity and cost, it is likely to be aimed at higher-end vehicles. No introduction date has been announced. Last year, the German transmission supplier ZF Friedrichshafen AG announced a new eight-speed automatic that, it said, will result in about 6 percent in fuel savings compared with second-generation six-speeds. Already, Mercedes-Benz offers a seven-speed, and the Lexus LS 460 and BMW 7-series sedans have an eight. The humble manual transmission also is getting a going-over. GM is Host Company SAE Members attend FREE*— An $850 Value! *Requires event pre-registration by April 3, 2009 www.sae.org/congress P81748 Tier 1 Strategic Partner: http://www.acxiom.com http://www.acxiom.com http://www.sae.org/congress http://www.sae.org/congress
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Automotive News - November 10, 2008 Life at 11 million: Slash, rethink The options: Bailout or disaster Can Toyota reheat the frozen Tundra? Chrysler dealers cheer halt to merger talk VW will unveil roadster at Detroit auto show BMW boosts dealers' year-end ad money Mercedes' $220 million flagship Mercedes hit hard in Northeast, once a sales stronghold Mercedes will kill CLK, add larger coupe, convertible Mitsubishi reclaims its finance business Toyota's Esmond to speak at congress Loss is more: Europe snatches bigger share of U.S. market Cash burn rates threaten GM, Ford GMAC: We're nobody's captive As losses mount, suppliers risk cash-flow crunch Tata: Yes to Jaguar XF derivative, no to SUV U.S. aid is needed now, but not to help Cerberus They are too big to fail Why should we help GM and Chrysler? First and foremost, you must be flexible U.S. trade policy gives it all away To the Editor: A rough ride is nothing new for autos Dealer's politics were pertinent Chrysler's 1st electric: Probably a cargo van Auto meltdown forces Mercedes to scrap prediction of sales record Boosting mpg will bump up stickers, too Adding up the tab for fuel economy Camaro Black: Eye-catching, affordable and available Honda sees green in Civic HFP's street performance Honda offers peek at future Fit Ford F-150 Raptor flies off-road Souped-up, tricked-out â and headed for the showroom Report: Toyota plans $5,000 car Amid gloom, Mazda chief sees revival in 2009-10 Report: Past-due subprime loans jump Toyota aims to win loyalty with credit card Study: Car buyers turn green for different reasons Thanks, buddy Hyundai helps Dealers Metaldyne offers pennies to bondholders Obituaries Personnel As expected, Oct. sales sank Another Chinese automaker plans Mexico factory Honda backs off U.S. clean diesels Industry pal, foe vie for key post in Congress Industry expects more activism from D.C. N.A. output falls 19.9% Toyota moves in striking distance of GM's U.S. sales crown Going, going . . . An ex-GM exec's view: It's going to get nasty Sex, Nazis, chicken and BMW: A scandal that puts fiction writers to shame Recession rips up roadster market Toyota takes heat for 'the herpes of the advertising world' Want to boost mpg? Turn up the heat on AC Cutting energy loss: A nibble here, a nibble there ... Carbon slashes weight, but it's still too pricey Carmakers shift to gears in search of mpg gains Natural gas draws interest as alternative fuel Friction? Ay, there's the rub Electric for a week Automotive News - November 10, 2008 Automotive News - November 10, 2008 - (Page Intro) Automotive News - November 10, 2008 - (Page Bellyband1) Automotive News - November 10, 2008 - (Page Bellyband2) Automotive News - November 10, 2008 - The options: Bailout or disaster (Page 1) Automotive News - November 10, 2008 - The options: Bailout or disaster (Page 2) Automotive News - November 10, 2008 - VW will unveil roadster at Detroit auto show (Page 3) Automotive News - November 10, 2008 - Mercedes hit hard in Northeast, once a sales stronghold (Page 4) Automotive News - November 10, 2008 - Mercedes hit hard in Northeast, once a sales stronghold (Page 5) Automotive News - November 10, 2008 - Loss is more: Europe snatches bigger share of U.S. market (Page 6) Automotive News - November 10, 2008 - Loss is more: Europe snatches bigger share of U.S. market (Page 7) Automotive News - November 10, 2008 - As losses mount, suppliers risk cash-flow crunch (Page 8) Automotive News - November 10, 2008 - As losses mount, suppliers risk cash-flow crunch (Page 9) Automotive News - November 10, 2008 - Tata: Yes to Jaguar XF derivative, no to SUV (Page 10) Automotive News - November 10, 2008 - Tata: Yes to Jaguar XF derivative, no to SUV (Page 11) Automotive News - November 10, 2008 - First and foremost, you must be flexible (Page 12) Automotive News - November 10, 2008 - First and foremost, you must be flexible (Page 13) Automotive News - November 10, 2008 - Dealer's politics were pertinent (Page 14) Automotive News - November 10, 2008 - Dealer's politics were pertinent (Page 15) Automotive News - November 10, 2008 - Auto meltdown forces Mercedes to scrap prediction of sales record (Page 16) Automotive News - November 10, 2008 - Boosting mpg will bump up stickers, too (Page 17) Automotive News - November 10, 2008 - Boosting mpg will bump up stickers, too (Page 18) Automotive News - November 10, 2008 - Boosting mpg will bump up stickers, too (Page 19) Automotive News - November 10, 2008 - Adding up the tab for fuel economy (Page 20) Automotive News - November 10, 2008 - Adding up the tab for fuel economy (Page 21) Automotive News - November 10, 2008 - Adding up the tab for fuel economy (Page 22) Automotive News - November 10, 2008 - Adding up the tab for fuel economy (Page 22a) Automotive News - November 10, 2008 - Adding up the tab for fuel economy (Page 22b) Automotive News - November 10, 2008 - Adding up the tab for fuel economy (Page 22c) Automotive News - November 10, 2008 - Adding up the tab for fuel economy (Page 22d) Automotive News - November 10, 2008 - Adding up the tab for fuel economy (Page 22e) Automotive News - November 10, 2008 - Adding up the tab for fuel economy (Page 22f) Automotive News - November 10, 2008 - Adding up the tab for fuel economy (Page 22g) Automotive News - November 10, 2008 - Adding up the tab for fuel economy (Page 22h) Automotive News - November 10, 2008 - Adding up the tab for fuel economy (Page 22i) Automotive News - November 10, 2008 - Adding up the tab for fuel economy (Page 22j) Automotive News - November 10, 2008 - Adding up the tab for fuel economy (Page 22k) Automotive News - November 10, 2008 - Adding up the tab for fuel economy (Page 22l) Automotive News - November 10, 2008 - Adding up the tab for fuel economy (Page 23) Automotive News - November 10, 2008 - Souped-up, tricked-out â and headed for the showroom (Page 24) Automotive News - November 10, 2008 - Amid gloom, Mazda chief sees revival in 2009-10 (Page 25) Automotive News - November 10, 2008 - Toyota aims to win loyalty with credit card (Page 26) Automotive News - November 10, 2008 - Hyundai helps (Page 27) Automotive News - November 10, 2008 - Dealers (Page 28) Automotive News - November 10, 2008 - Personnel (Page 29) Automotive News - November 10, 2008 - Personnel (Page 30) Automotive News - November 10, 2008 - Personnel (Page 31) Automotive News - November 10, 2008 - Personnel (Page 32) Automotive News - November 10, 2008 - Personnel (Page 33) Automotive News - November 10, 2008 - Personnel (Page 34) Automotive News - November 10, 2008 - Personnel (Page 35) Automotive News - November 10, 2008 - Personnel (Page 36) Automotive News - November 10, 2008 - As expected, Oct. sales sank (Page 37) Automotive News - November 10, 2008 - Honda backs off U.S. clean diesels (Page 38) Automotive News - November 10, 2008 - Industry expects more activism from D.C. (Page 39) Automotive News - November 10, 2008 - Industry expects more activism from D.C. (Page 40) Automotive News - November 10, 2008 - N.A. output falls 19.9% (Page 41) Automotive News - November 10, 2008 - Toyota takes heat for 'the herpes of the advertising world' (Page 42) Automotive News - November 10, 2008 - Toyota takes heat for 'the herpes of the advertising world' (Page 43) Automotive News - November 10, 2008 - Toyota takes heat for 'the herpes of the advertising world' (Page 44)
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