Tech Briefs
Performance gets attention

5-speed manual transmission on 2000 Alero.

As General Motors' only division to increase both car and truck sales in 1998, Oldsmobile is going after what Strategic Planning Manager Peter Kosak calls "left-lane mind-set" consumers with new performance attributes in its continuing plan to attract import buyers, stop defections, and reinvent the brand.

Oldsmobile marketers think they have found a way to attract more buyers to the Alero, the division's sales leader. "We know the type of audience we want to sell to, and there's a group within that audience that wouldn't consider the car without a manual transmission," Biff Kramer, Oldsmobile Product Manager for Alero, said during a Flat Rock, MI, media event.

The 5-speed manual transaxle, produced at a new plant in Bari, Italy, is from Getrag of Germany. Mated to a 2.4-L DOHC 4-cylinder engine, the transmission will be standard on GX Alero and available on the GL version. The gearbox uses Dexron III lubricant and carbon-fiber synchronizers. The synchronized reverse transmission (with lockout gearshift ring protection) also features a hydraulically actuated clutch.

The 2000 Intrigue will be the first midsize sedan in the U.S. with an optional vehicle control system. Precision Control System (PCS), jointly developed by Bosch and General Motors, uses four wheel-speed sensors, steering-angle sensors, brake master cylinder pressure sensors, yaw rate/lateral acceleration sensors, as well as a hydraulic control unit. "These sensors are used together to determine driver intention and vehicle dynamic response," said Rob Kotarak, Lead Systems Engineer for GM.

Scott Dahl, Bosch Braking Systems' Applications Manager for GM Programs, added, "Other manufacturers developed systems to slow a vehicle down by letting the system drive the driver. PCS was designed to let the driver drive the vehicle while retaining vehicle stability." PCS is a fully automatic system that includes H-rated tires, a different axle ratio, and Magnasteer II. There is no on/off switch for the driver to engage/disengage; the driver is alerted to PCS engagement via an instrument panel indicator light.