EcoBoost Inline 3, 8-speed Auto coming
 

Is that ever cool. Looks like the trend is becoming boosted motors. It makes sense. More power and better fuel efficiency from less cubes. Ford leads the way again. I was a chev guy forever but now I see with an open mind. The chevy and dodge bailout was wasted money because ford will still be putting them out of business. Just prolonged the agony. I like how the article stresses that the transmissions will be built in America. And an 8 speed sounds like a great idea. I would buy one for my kid after a few model years pump out so ford can work out the bugs

How long before they come out with an 18 speed?

2 speeds were once the norm, then 4 speeds and now 6 speeds.

Is the new 6-speed auto better than the old C4 3-speed from the 65 mustang? Yes.

Not saying that more is always better but as shifts get smoother and faster than more gears will be better. Eventually they will find the perfect amount of gears.

My c6 3 speed is amazing for a 35 year old tranny but I'd say a couple more gears would bring my mpg up a fair bit

But also more $$$.

It used to be more power = more $$$. Now it's more mpgs = more $$$.

A buyer now has to pay extra for a 2.0L EcoBoost (237 hp) engine in Taurus or Edge or Explorer compared to standard 3.5L engine (290 hp).

I agree. More gears is usually better.

I just came back from a long trip (4,000 km or 2,500 miles in less than 2 weeks) with my Golf and I just hate driving it on the highways. It's 5 speed and I was driving 150 km/h (~95 mph) most of the way. It revs at 3,200 RPM - at those revs is noisy and not economical at all. In fact, I get much better fuel economy in the city than highways. If it had one or two more gears it would be a different story.