DCX uses components from other companies to streamline, speed up vehicle development.

By Jeff Green / Bloomberg News

DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group will use a transmission created by Nissan Motor Co. and a diesel engine supplied by Volkswagen AG in a new Dodge car, as part of efforts to cut the time and cost of vehicle development.

The 2007 Dodge Caliber, set to debut next year, will be available with a so-called continuously variable transmission developed by Nissan's Jatco Ltd. unit and a diesel engine for outside of the United States from Volkswagen, Chrysler engineering chief Eric Ridenour said last week. The car will use an all-wheel drive system developed with Mitsubishi Motors Corp., he said.

Chrysler, the third-largest U.S. automaker, is using partnerships with Japanese and European companies and parts borrowed from other units within DaimlerChrysler to streamline vehicle development. Chrysler has cut annual product development costs to about $6 billion from $8.4 billion since 2000, even as the automaker has added more models.

"If you don't have to invest in the technology and you can find someone with excess capacity to supply it, it's a good deal for both sides," David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, said. "There's lots of horse trading like this that's going to go on. It's a good example of the new business model."

The Jatco continuously variable transmission, which uses pulleys instead of gears to distribute power, cuts fuel economy by as much as 8 percent, said Ridenour, who takes over as Chrysler chief operating officer in January. The current chief operating officer, Tom LaSorda, will become chief executive.

Chrysler will get the transmissions from a Jatco plant that opens next year in Mexico. They are used on Nissan Lafesta models in Japan, Ridenour said.

To address complaints that transmissions sound different when they shift than a traditional automatic system with gears, Chrysler helped develop software that simulates the sound and feel of gear changes, he said.

The all-wheel drive system, which includes parts made by Mitsubishi in Japan, shifts from front- to rear-wheel-drive, depending on the situation.

At speeds between 30 and 60 mph, the system mostly uses rear-wheel drive to improve handling, Ridenour said. At slower speeds or when roads are slippery, it uses front-wheel drive.

The 2-liter Volkswagen direct-injection turbo diesel uses a higher-pressure fuel system to increase fuel efficiency and reduce pollutant emissions, he said. The engine, used in VW's Touareg sport-utility vehicle and planned for its new Golf cars, will be installed in Caliber models sold outside the United States, where diesels are more popular, Ridenour said.

"Nobody can afford to build everything they need anymore," Cole said, citing General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. cooperating to build transmissions and GM and DaimlerChrysler teaming up on engines. "Just about everybody's parts are for sale now."

 

I heard about it a few days ago and don't like the idea at all



-Matt-

 

i don't like how that all wheel drive system seems to work. i want 4 wheels going, not front sometimes, and rear sometimes.

 

They don't do that for safety reasons. So I've heard. Sitting up high in a four-wheel drive vehicle should give most drivers a better reaction time than people who are driving a car. Instead it often gives them a false sense of security and control that has them pushing the rules of the road and getting too close to the driver in front of them.



-Matt-

 

I don't know why this is new news, besides Nissan's transmission.

It's been known that it's VW's diesel engine and Mitsubishi's AWD system...

 

i just thought they elaborated on the details a little more.

 

True, Matt just acted like this was new news to him "a few days ago".

 

well the only thing I am not liking about the ordeal is nissan transmissions they just have a horrible history w/ them. Every nissan car ive owned although I love 'em have trans/clutch problems and arent very mod friendly, usually needing upgraded. But maybe itll be a good thing they are together....we'll see.

 

it is CVT, there shouldn't be clutches

 

I've given up hope on the Caliber and written it off as a worthy replacement for the Neon. For now, I'm waiting to see what comes out of these rumors about the Rebel and what happens with it. Or I could just wait 20 years til they bring the Neon back...