As technology continues to shrink the world, new alliances are being made in the auto industry, alliances that would have been unthinkable a generation ago.
For example, there’s a hybrid project among General Motors, BMW and DaimlerChrysler and a 6-speed automatic transmission project between Ford and GM adaptable to front-, rear- and all-wheel-drive.
BMW’s latest Mini uses an aluminum engine developed with Peugeot/Citroen (to replace the iron-block, Brazilian-built Mitsubishi-based unit), and Toyota will provide the engine for the diesel-powered Mini.
Shared technology falls into three basic areas.
The first goes back to the dawn of the auto industry. It’s the basic, “I make it, you buy it” deal. Manufacturers such as Continental in Detroit built 4- and 6-cylinder flathead motors for smaller companies such as Willys, Kaiser-Frazer and Checker cabs, from 1930 to 1965. Mercedes, Peugeot, Fiat, Ford and Isuzu diesels are used worldwide in their own cars and other brands.
The second involves swapping ideas within your company (GM and Ford in Australia, South Africa and South America, for example) or licensing ideas to other automakers, which they adapt.
A vivid example of this is Audi’s R8, which improves on the technology of the 420-horsepower Lamborghini Gallardo (Volkswagen owns Audi and Lamborghini). An R8 with a 520-h.p., V-10 is also rumored to be coming–in case 186 m.p.h. is not enough.
A celebrated example of licensing is Felix Wankel’s rotary engine, developed by NSU in Germany, licensed to Mazda in Japan (which still uses it) and Citroen in France (the GS Bi-Rotor of 1974–only 847 sold). Norton used it in a motorcycle in the 1980s, and Rolls-Royce even developed a diesel version. General Motors tested rotaries with the Corvette in mind, but dropped the idea during the fuel crunch of 1973. Rotaries are only 50 to 75 percent as guel-efficient as piston engines.
A more recent example is Toyota licensing its Prius hybrid technology to Ford for the 2005 Escape, the first gas/electric sport-utility vehicle.
The third sharing involves mega-corporations such as GM, Ford, D/C and Toyota pooling their brains and resources to develop new products.
This has been tried in the past: Volvo, Renault and Peugeot produced a 2.8-liter, 130-h.p. V-6 in the 1970s, but it was mediocre. It is mostly remembered for powering the DeLorean, and it’s good that “Back to the Future” time travel didn’t require 110 m.p.h., instead of 88 m.p.h., or the story might have been stuck in the present.
A better outcome emerged from Toyota’s 1984 joint agreement with GM at the NUMMI (New United Motor Manufacturing Inc.) plant in Fremont, Calif. GM learned “lean production” from Toyota, and Toyota got a foothold in the U.S. It began with the Chevrolet Nova, and the plant now builds the Toyota Corolla, Pontiac Vibe and Toyota Tacoma pickup (Toyota’s Matrix, a twin to the Vibe, is made in Canada).
“Our public position is that we’re very open to technology sharing,” says Mike Michels, Toyota’s corporate manager of external communications. “With more costly powertrains and increased safety compliance, only the biggest companies can go ahead. Our policy is to cooperate on R&D [research and development] and compete in the showroom. There’s a lot of openness in R&D, and we’re doing some exploratory work with GM on fuel cells.”
Toyota’s lead in complex and costly hybrid technology is prompting other manufacturers to pool their resources to a degree hitherto unknown.
The BMW/DaimlerChrysler/GM task force is sharing space in Detroit to tackle a two-mode hybrid powertrain.
For example, should a car run on electricity in the city, then switch to cylinder deactivation on the highway? Or should a small alternative fuel engine merely charge the batteries so that the car is continually powered by electricity? Think Chevrolet Volt.
Bob Purcell managed GM’s EV-1 electric car program in the 1990s and is now powertrain director for global planning. Purcell says a two-level power system is suited to America, with its mixture of city and highway distances. Current hybrids get better mileage in town than on the highway, and the BMW/D/C/GM system is aiming to address that by combining two electric motors and two continuous variable transmissions with four gear ranges.
“Toyota has a CVT, but we think our system has more advantages,” says Purcell. “We can grab specific ranges, pull heavier loads and get better highway economy. Toyota is thinking Asian cities; our hybrid will meet the needs of American drivers.”
Purcell says there is no single solution to hybrid power, “no silver bullet.”
“Biofuels reduce the petroleum component, electric motors are a solution, even a conventional 6-speed automatic transmission could see a 6 to 8 percent improvement in mileage. Reducing the number of cylinders [to match load] is very promising.”
“In a joint project, you both have skin in the game. It’s a way to share expertise,” adds Mark Chernoby, vice president of advance vehicle engineering at DaimlerChrysler. “The new technology is coming faster and faster, driven by regulatory and competitive forces. And since new technology is not being made in high volume, it is expensive and there’s more risk in capital return. Bundling expertise helps to get results more quickly and share the expense.”
The hybrid program is “an excellent example of our future. Next year we’ll launch a two-mode Dodge Durango.”
Chernoby sees hybrid diesels as the next wave. “The hybrid works in the city, the diesel is better in Montana and the Bluetec diesel [DaimlerChrysler’s new technology that meets the tighter U.S. emissions standards approaching] has the cleanest emissions in the world.”
