BMW 7-Series to get 8-speed box
The war to add more gear ratios is on.
BMW looks set to introduce an eight-speed automatic ZF gearbox into the 7-Series in 2009, according to automotive analysts, CSM Worldwide. The aim is to help it compete with the similarly-equipped Lexus LS460 and IS-F sports saloon.
And it was only three years or so ago that seven-speed auto boxes made their debut in a Mercedes, with a six-speed making it into the 7-Series in 2001.
According to one report, GM is ready to follow the trend with systems due in Cadillacs and maybe Buicks.
The question has to be asked though: are all these gears warranted, given the added weight and complexity they will entail? Do these engines have so narrow a power band that eight speeds are strictly necessary -- or is it all just marketing?
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