In the automotive world, there are tons of developmental deals between car companies. You’ll see the likes of BMW->ke178 and Hyundai->ke201 teaming up, but that is no biggie, as the two don’t really compete with one another. Just like Toyota->ke88 and Subaru->ke86 teaming up on the Subascioyota triplets. Yeah, they are both Japanese car manufacturers, but they have distinctly separate demographics.

Well, to hell with competition and demographics when it comes to No. 1 and No. 2 of Detroit's "Big Three" and falling behind in the automatic transmission wars. You see, most of the other major car companies boast multispeed transmission with gear numbers nearing double digits, as Chrysler->ke21, BMW, Audi->ke14 and Lexus->ke47 all boast 8-speed automatics and a smattering of others feature 7-speed units. GM->ke1024 and Ford->ke31, on the other hand, are still playing around with 6-speed units.

That is all about to change and the two arch rivals are actually helping each other out. The two rival companies with about as much bad blood as Iran and Pakistan have entered in what GM is calling a “Memorandum of understanding” to develop 9- and 10-speed transmissions for the two to share.

The details of the deal are not completely known yet, but we do know that GM will head up development of the 9-speed unit and Ford will take the lead on the 10-speed. We also know that the 9-speed transmission will be aimed at propelling the boring front-wheel-drive cars, as the 10-speed will be the unit we see in pickups, SUVs, and performance models.

This means that the chances are very high that your future Mustang->ke428 GT could boast the same 10-speed transmission as a Corvette ZR1. Kinda creepy, huh?

So pack up your umbrellas in the coming days, as we anticipate seeing a high probability for thunderstorms of the froggy variety…

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