General Motors Developing CVT In-House For Global Lineup

Cameron Aubernon
by Cameron Aubernon

Not content with using CVTs from other manufacturers, General Motors is working on a CVT in-house for use in its global lineup.

Per Ward’s Auto, details on the new transmission are scant at best, though the publication’s sources state the in-house unit will be installed in several “high-volume” models by 2019, paired up with the automaker’s new line of three- and four-cylinder engines set to see production this year. The sources added that GM is taking bids from suppliers to build parts for the CVT.

Though the automaker uses CVTs already, including the 2015 Spark and Nissan NV-based City Express, it hasn’t had much luck with using units designed and assembled in-house. In the early 2000s, GM ran a program that saw such a product installed in the Saturn Vue and Ion, as well as the Opel Vectra, before production and drivability issues brought the program to a halt in 2004.

As for why go for it again, GM Powertrain representative Tom Read says the automaker has the capability to make its own CVTs, and will deliver when conditions — specifically those concerning fuel efficiency and emissions — are met:

GM has unmatched transmission expertise and development resources and is capable of delivering additional CVTs if and when they’re needed.

Cameron Aubernon
Cameron Aubernon

Seattle-based writer, blogger, and photographer for many a publication. Born in Louisville. Raised in Kansas. Where I lay my head is home.

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  • Akear Akear on Jan 24, 2015

    We are not just talking about cars, but also the lack of American assembly robots and machine tools in the industry. In 1980 the US was the world leader in machine tool production, now it is ranked sixth behind Italy. I remember the CEO of Ford (Peterson?) twenty years ago being concerned about the erosion of the U.S. machine tool industry. This was after ford ordered a giant press from Germany that was to stamp the entire body of the second generation Taurus. The situation has been getting steadily worse. This decline in American industrial might is also happening in other industries. For example, Seimens, a german firm, is basically designing and engineering California's entire high speed rail line..

    • Lorenzo Lorenzo on Jan 24, 2015

      There are multiple causes of the decline of the machine tool industry, but as far as Siemens is concerned, it builds the trolleys in San Diego and is building the next generation BART cars in San Francisco, largely because it has expertise in passenger rail that no longer exists in the US. The government's shift of indirect subsidies (mail) from railroads to the airline industry destroyed passenger rail here, once the world's best, while the Europeans built an impressive system that's heavily subsidized with gasoline tax revenue. The subsidies Amtrak gets wouldn't keep French rail alone going for more than a few weeks, if that.

  • Jeff S Jeff S on Jan 24, 2015

    Hyundai and Kia might surprise all of us and develop a better CVT transmission. The South Korean car companies have been on a roll and have come up with quality that matches Toyota and Honda. Ford is not quite has hot as they were and time will tell if the new aluminum F-150 is as hot on the market as anticipated. Ford has a lot riding on the new F-150.

  • Pragmatist Pragmatist on Jan 24, 2015

    I think we could argue that the Dynaflow was the world's first production CVT. Not efficient, but probably the smoothest ever.

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    • Pragmatist Pragmatist on Jan 25, 2015

      @Lorenzo Torque converters are not slip couplings, they hydraulically produce speed reduction/torque multiplication Actually it was continuously variable, through multistage torque converters (different torque multiplation ranges at different speeds). Additionally some (not sure about your model) one set of turbine blades pass through reduction gears. As the car accelerated, fluid flow diverted from the reduction gear TC to the direct drive one. There was a smooth transition but no shift

  • Tedward Tedward on Jan 24, 2015

    I just don't understand the enthusiasm for CVT's that I see (only here by the way.) If it's an appreciation for the technology I can certainly relate to that, as I like to geek out on random bits of auto tech myself. But if it has more to do with the driving experience I'm lost. The best I can say about any CVT I've driven is "shrug, it works." I suspect the tendency to support one's own vehicle purchases may be at play.

    • See 1 previous
    • Vulpine Vulpine on Jan 25, 2015

      @pragmatist "With the almost flat torque curves of modern engines, and computer controls, the 'sweet spot' is much wider and the gear selection is not as critical." Actually, I see gear selection now as more critical, not less. You talk about 'almost flat torque curves', yet modern transmissions have more gears than ever in them in order to stay closer to that so-called 'sweet spot'. I've also found that the 'sweet spot' in my cars is about 500 rpm higher than the on-board computer wants to shift. By shifting early it loads the engine just enough to sacrifice roughly 10% of the economy you could be realizing at a given speed. Once you're cruising then a lower rpm is a good idea, but while you're accelerating or encountering hilly country, forcing the shift points a little higher realizes better economy. I've proven this to myself with a Fiat 500 which is far more sensitive to grades than most larger vehicles but learned this long ago when driving ferry runs for a car rental agency in the Rocky Mountains. (My co-workers always wondered how I got through the mountains faster and on less fuel than they did in the same cars.)

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