By William Maley

Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com

January 22, 2013

We know that Chrysler has been readying a new nine-speed transmission to be used in certain models, but we didn't know how many of these gearboxes would be used. According to Bloomberg, Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne said the company expects to sell around 200,000 vehicles equipped with the new nine-speed automatic. The new nine-speed will come in three models: Chrysler's redesigned 200, Dodge's Dart, and Jeep's new Liberty.

The nine-speed transmission is the “future of the front- wheel drive and all-wheel drive world for Chrysler,” Marchionne said to reporters last week.

The nine-speed will first appear in the new Liberty, followed by the 200 and/or Dart.

Source: Bloomberg

William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at [email protected] or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster.

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I wonder how much more MPG they will get on the Jeep. My son has a 2012 model and I wonder what the performance will be in addition to efficiency.

I'm not sure all the gains could be credited to the 9-speed. There will be engine improvements and better weight management as well.

I'm not sure all the gains could be credited to the 9-speed. There will be engine improvements and better weight management as well.

Agreed, the tuning of the total package from engine, tranny, diff to suspension etc all will contribute. I am just interested in how much of a gain they expect from the 9 speed.

Wow I have a 2-speed CVT and next thing ya know, Chrysler has a NINE-speed auto coming.

You have more gear ratios than 9.... you just have to selectable ranges of ratios.

CVT sucks donkey appendages.

CVT sucks donkey appendages.

Yours does, but many others do not. The Subaru and Nissan CVTs are both quite good.

Oh I drove my mother's Cube plenty of times. And my estimation stands pat.

CVT is like classical music. Some you love some you hate and some just leave ya Blah!

I really do see the Engineering aspect of CVT, but there is passion missing in them all. I have driven some rentals that drove fine, some that drove like nothing was under the hood and I could have run faster and some that had engine and just seemed to rev.

I find CVT auto's to be souless commuter cars that suck the life out of you like a Prius.

I will pass on them at this stage, I would rather have a GM 4 spd over a CVT.

Try a Maxima.

WOW, Maxima their sport sedan has gone CVT? That is just sad. But will give it a try when the opportunity comes my way.

WOW, Maxima their sport sedan has gone CVT? That is just sad. But will give it a try when the opportunity comes my way.

Yup. Check out my review of the 2012 Nissan Maxima I talk about the CVT here. I thought it was a really great setup for that car and once you get over the lack of feeling the shift points, you can really appreciate the performance benefits of the CVT.

Rented an '11 Sentra and wound up being very impressed with the performance of the CVT. Kept the engine revs down unless you really needed 'em. Engine loafed at highway speeds, something like 2000 RPM, Very nice cruiser.