ZF's 9-Speed 9HP Transmission Puts Dog Clutches On The Leash

In a week we will post our first full review of the all-new and all-controversial 2014 Jeep Cherokee. The new Jeep isn’t just raising eyebrows for the love-it or hate-it styling. Or the resurrection of the Cherokee badge. Or the constant delays in production. Or the transverse mounted engine. Or the lack of solid axles. None of that laundry list seems to cause as much discussion around the automotive water cooler than ZF’s 9HP 9-speed transmission. Click past the jump for a deep dive into the tranny with more speeds than my bicycle. If you don’t want to explore transmissions in detail, don’t click. You have been warned.

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  • Carson D It will work out exactly the way it did the last time that the UAW organized VW's US manufacturing operations.
  • Carson D A friend of mine bought a Cayenne GTS last week. I was amazed how small the back seat is. Did I expect it to offer limousine comfort like a Honda CR-V? I guess not. That it is far more confining and uncomfortable than any 4-door Civic made in the past 18 years was surprising. It reminded me of another friend's Mercedes-Benz CLS550 from a dozen years ago. It seems like a big car, but really it was a 2+2 with the utilitarian appearance of a 4-door sedan. The Cayenne is just an even more utilitarian looking 2+2. I suppose the back seat is bigger than the one in the Porsche my mother drove 30 years ago. The Cayenne's luggage bay is huge, but Porsche's GTs rarely had problems there either.
  • Stanley Steamer Oh well, I liked the Legacy. It didn't help that they ruined it's unique style after 2020. It was a classy looking sedan up to that point.
  • Jalop1991 https://notthebee.com/article/these-people-wore-stop-signs-to-prank-self-driving-cars-and-this-is-a-trend-i-could-totally-get-behindFull self stopping.
  • Lou_BC Summit Racing was wise to pull the parts. It damages their reputation. I've used Summit Racing for Jeep parts that I could not find elsewhere.