MotownTSX

HOLY SH$TTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!! DID NOT KNOW THAT!!!

Now why on Earth would something like that take place???

Brad

For decades, GM has been at the forefront in automatic transmission development, and for decades GM has supplied competitors with their transmissions.

There was a time when Ford Lincolns had GM auto trannies that were also used in their own GM Cadillacs.

I'm not aware of anything bad or inferior about GM's auto trannies.

Another example of competitor sharing parts involve BMW and Chryzler. Together, they build 4 cylinder engines in Brazil. (They had arranged this before Daimler-Benz bought Chryzler.) The engine basis for the BMW Mini Cooper and the Dodge or Chryzler Neon are from the same source.

larchmont

I bet they made GM promise not to tell anybody.

teombe

Sadly enough, it's actually one of their selling points for the CTS

http://www.cadillac.com/cadillacjsp/...nsmission.html

http://www.gm.com/automotive/gmpower.../apps/5l40.htm

By the way, here are the other cars the transmission is currently used in:

BMW 3-Series
BMW 3-Series Sedan and Wagon
BMW 3-Series All Wheel Drive
BMW 5-Series
BMW X5 Sport Utility
BMW Z3 Roadster
Cadillac CTS
OPEL Omega
ROVER Range Rover

SmokeTL

The 5 speed transmission in the CTS has a notchier feel. They might come from the same box, but they don't feel the same.

teombe

The 5-speed automatic transmissions are the shared units. The CTS's manual is a Getrag unit, and I think the BMW's manuals are ZF's.

SmokeTL

I always thought ZF and Getrag were sononomous. I would always see them together in car mags.


P.s. how you you put another post's quote in your reponse?

SmokeTL

The 5 speed transmission in the CTS has a notchier feel. They might come from the same box, but they don't feel the same.

MotownTSX

How many times do I have to say this.....your pos Jetta is NOT a German car. It was probably made in Guadalahara or Cancun.......Volkwagen USA has the most calls for service out of every single maker that deals in the U.S. And it isn't even close...they are dead-last by many thousands...

MotownTSX

Yeah, one of the great ironies of the auto world.

MB is rapidly researching and testing 4-bangers out as I write this so they can give the BMW engine the boot. I heard that they are rather embarrassed to be sleeping with the enemy on this one.

And it is ChrySler. Not to nitpick, but it was bugging me...:P

gilboman

bwhahaha..the guy has no clue... must have been conned by the salesman...that's like taking the reliability of mitsubishi,suzuki to conclude that japanese auto's are POS

TSXinCA

Just about any car has parts made elsewhere or is assembled somewhere else. So by your logic there really is almost no such thing as a German car or a Japanese care, etc etc.

The VW may be assembled in Mexico, but it is not a Mexican car. It is a German design, made by a German company. They're just outsourcing the assembly, but IT IS A GERMAN CAR.

larchmont

Start by clicking the "Quote" button on the bottom-right of the post, hit "Enter," and then do your thing.

BTW -- Once in a while something goes wrong and you have to fix it up. This would be a different thread, but....... I don't think anybody has ever mentioned it. What happens is, some stuff gets chopped off the top of the "quoted" portion, and a corrupt symbol is thrown in, and when you try to post your reply, it won't go -- you get a message telling you to "complete message field."

But don't worry about that too much for now. Just click "Quote," and you'll be good almost all the time.

SmokeTL

thanks

MotownTSX

It's assembled in Mexico. Who cares about the design. If it falls apart (all the complaints are mechanical), it is because of poor assembly. VW Europe does not have this problem. The VWs in Japan are top-notch (expensive as well) and then I found out why: Japan gets 'em from Germany....go figure.

Brad

Oh ja, I know how to correctly spell Chrysler, for sure. Ja! But when Daimler-Benz bought out Chrysler, the Daimler Benz chief pronounced it like "Chryzler". Since then, I've pronounced and spelled it with a "z"--just for the spite of it all.

I've also noticed that some who speak British English also pronounce it with a "z" sound.

Let's just say it's my pet name for a company whose products I never admired--Chryzler. Ja!

gilboman

so since most stuff made in china (eg electronics) are either european in origin or US...would you call them US or European componets?? if you do then

larchmont

It probably comes originally from the German name "Kreisler," like the famous violinist Fritz Kreisler (I figure maybe 2 other people here ever heard of him!). FWIW -- his name was always pronounced exactly like we here say Chrysler. But I think the authentic German way would be like a "z".

TSXinCA

Many of the problems I experienced were design flaws, such as the window regulator was a plastic piece glued to metal (any moron can tell you you can't glue metal to plastic-it never holds!). Can't fault assembly for that, it was part of the German design. Also, the cupholders were poorly designed, and the gunk they use in the underside near the doors to protect against rust damage oozed out all over my driveway in the hot California summer becuase the design did not take into account anything other than cold weather driving. These are all design issues attributable to the German VW engineers. There were some assemply issues as well, but the majority were design issues. But either way I still don't see how you can call it a Mexican car just because it was assembled there. It was created and designed by a German company that also coordinates the foreign assembly operations, so it is a German car...period. If you hire a Chinese cook in an Italian restaurant, do you now call it a Chinese restaurant?? Of course not!

TSXinCA

See post above...My analogy about a Chinese cook in an Italian restaurant still stands...

As for electronics, whatever company created, designed and coordinated manufacturing of the product is the one who "owns" it. It may be assembled in China, but that doesn't make it a Chinese product. Take Nike for example, just because those shoes you're wearing were made in some sweatshop in SE Asia, that doesn't mean Nike is an Asian company. Duh!

Brad

Ja, the German "s" is often pronounced like an English "z". Sauerkraut comes to mind and tummy. That "S" is definately pronounced like a "z", as in ZOWerkraut.... I would agree that the "s" Kreisler would also be pronounced like a "z".

A German "z" (the letter "tset".) is pronounced like an English "ts". Therefore, "Zimmer" would be pronounced something like "TSIMmer".

Therefore, the TSX should sound like "tsex", if it were a word. (Phfew! I'm back on topic, whatever that was!) I wish Acura had a better name for the favored car of this forum! It's a good reason to debadge, debadge, debadge! Afterall, its target audience is not the ghetto pimp!

SmokeTL

Therefore, the TSX should sound like "tsex", if it were a word. (Phfew! I'm back on topic, whatever that was!) I wish Acura had a better name for the favored car of this forum! It's a good reason to debadge, debadge, debadge! Afterall, its target audience is not the ghetto pimp! [/B][/QUOTE]

What is your def of a ghetto pimp?

larchmont

Motown might!

Actually I agree completely with Motown on his basic point. I wouldn't call the Jetta a "Mexican" car, and I've laughed a lot at the idea. But, let's not get hung up on what we'd call it. What we care about it how the car is. To most of us, the question of whether we call it a Mexican car or a German car is relevant only to the extent that it tells us something about how the car is.

In this case, I don't know if it does, but certainly it could. I'm tempted to say that it does, because we know that Jettas have had serious problems. But, I think, so have German cars that were built in Germany in the last few years.

I wouldn't call the U.S.-built Acuras "American" cars. But it does seem they've had more problems than the Japan-built Acuras, and that's worth knowing.

MotownTSX

Yeah, fair enough. But, like I also said, the Euro-built VWs had top ratings. And last year, VW issued a release stating that they were doing all they could to "catch up" their Mexican operation to the rest. They even sent a bunch of German engineers and other brains to Mexico to set things straight. So, obviously, the Mexican-built autos weren't up to snuff.

Call 'em what you will, but a Mexican VW is NOT close to a Euro VW. (but it's still a VW....:'( )

BTW....ever see what kind of warranties Euro auto companies give on Mexican-built cars? 24-36 months TOPS. That should tell you something....