Part of Ford's efficiency equation is its application of six-speed automatic and continuously variable (CVT) transmissions.
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| The first application of a six-speed automatic gearbox in Ford's lineup has been integrated into the new 2006 Explorer, an in-house developed transmission designed for rear-drive vehicles. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press) |
Amazingly, the blue oval team eclipses all rivals in six-speed use, numbering twenty-four models in its three nameplate lineup, with two additional crossovers that will soon up the ante.
The first application of a six-speed automatic gearbox in Ford's lineup has been integrated into the new 2006 Explorer, an in-house developed transmission designed for rear-drive vehicles. The first front-driver to get the six-speed auto treatment was the Five Hundred that debuted last year. Now with the advent of the new midsize Fusion, spun off into the Mercury Milan in the U.S. and most recently launched in the
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| The front-drive configured six-speed automatic used in the Lincoln Zephyr, for instance, is not an in-house unit, but rather is purchased from Japan's Aisin. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press) |
Lincoln Zephyr in both markets, Ford is definitely the multi-speed transmission leader by a fair margin.
The front-drive configured six-speed automatic used in the aforementioned cars is not an in-house unit, mind you, but rather is purchased from Japan's Aisin, which as it happens is owned by Toyota - ironic being that Toyota doesn't make use of the technology but instead only offers four- and five-speed automatic transmissions. This relationship between Ford and Aisin may not last much longer, however, as an all-new proprietary (or at least as proprietary as a transmission co-developed with General Motors can be) six-speed auto, for use in front-drive vehicles, will debut in Detroit, in the same two new crossovers I mentioned a minute or two ago.
