2018 GMC Yukon

10-SPEEDS: NOT JUST FOR BIKES ANYMORE

- Jason Gonderman

There was a time, not that long ago, when six-speed automatic transmissions were a big deal. Times have surely changed— and quickly. The latest slushbox to find its way into the pickup and SUV world now sports a whopping 10 cogs.

Competition leads to innovation, and there’s no place in the U.S. auto industry more competitive than the realm of trucks and SUVs. Because of this, it struck us as surprising when the announcement was made a couple years ago that Ford and GM had teamed up to develop a pair of transmissions. Reportedly, Ford led the 10-speed project while GM was charged with primary nine-speed development. Information regarding the partnership has been slim, which can be blamed on each company putting its own marketing spin on the unit; however, the fruits of this partnership have finally fully ripened—and, boy, are they sweet.

We got our first taste of the rear-drive– oriented 10-speed when Ford backed its high-output 3.5L EcoBoost V-6 in the ’17 Raptor with the unit, which they call the 10R. GM’s first installation of the trans was found in the Camaro ZL1. Both of the vehicles are high performance, and the transmissions were tuned accordingly. For ’18, Ford announced that the 10R would be available across most of the F-150 lineup (the base V-6 soldiers on with a six-speed), along with Expedition and Mustang. Lincoln is also using it in the Navigator.