Consider the importance of engines and transmissions to our overall appreciation of, and satisfaction with, the cars, trucks, and SUVs we drive. Not just daily reliability, long-term durability, and the all-important balance between performance, capability, and efficiency, but also each system’s smoothness, quietness, ease of operation, and serviceability. And beyond all those customer criteria are ever-tougher emissions and fuel economy requirements imposed by governments in every auto market around the world.
Gone are the days when an automaker could design, develop, build, and certify different engines, transmissions, and drivelines in and for each market its vehicles were sold. Today’s relentlessly toughening sets of customer, government, and competitive requirements require a far more efficient global approach, with regional differences where necessary, which is the business model all multinational makers (who are…
