From May 6th to 8th, 2008 the 2nd CTI Symposium + Exhibition „Automotive Transmissions North America“ took place at the Westin Hotel in Southfield, MI.

280 participants listened to 36 speeches presented by the most important car manufacturers and suppliers. 22 exhibitors formed the “Transmission Expo Detroit” and displayed their products and solutions. The pertinence of a forum to exchange ideas and opinions is also reflected in the growth in the number of participants and exhibitors. With an increase of 30% and a rise of the exhibitor number of 50% the CTI Transmission Symposium North America showed the importance of transmission development for the overall vehicle engineering.

Together with the members of the advisory board, Ernie DeVincent of GETRAG Transmission Corporation (Chairman), Phil Gott of Global Insight, Bert Martin of Chrysler LLC and Prof. Dr. Ferit Kücükay of the University of Braunschweig, CTI created a program which gave an overview of the latest developments in transmission engineering.

The plenary speeches put a magnifying glass on transmissions’ contribution to meet today´s and future challenges and how the worldwide “transmission map” is going to look like. Global Insight gave a mid- and long-term outlook for the global transmission production with a focus on NAFTA. Chrysler highlighted the transmission and driveline as major contributors to fuel efficiency, safety, fun-to-drive and brand differentiation. GETRAG pointed out what the advantages of dual clutch transmissions and new concepts of cooperation are to face the fierce global energy situation and mobility demand. BorgWarner showed concepts for efficient all-wheel drive systems (AWD).

In a total of four parallel sessions, the participants were given the possibility to discuss new concepts in the field of 6-, 7-, 8- and 9-speed transmissions and dual-clutch transmissions. The presented tools for the optimization of transmissions will allow improvements in shift quality and control. New developed materials are going to meet – or upgrade – the performance of highly efficient transmissions.

Day two took a close look on torque converters and torque vectoring and their contribution to improve fuel efficiency – a highly important development area in times when a barrel of oil costs more than 130 USD. The relevance of AWD vehicles for the North American automotive market required a close look at the latest developments in performance and efficiency – which is vital to hold ground and not to lose shares to smaller vehicles or vehicles with an alternative drivetrain. The role of transmission in alternative drivetrains was the focus of the special program on day three.

In order to give all participants a lot of opportunities to communicate with peers, the coffee and lunch breaks were held in the exhibition area and a boat cruise at the end of day one on lake St. Clair was arranged. Food, drinks and the Caribean Band “Island Guys Trio” created the perfect setting to continue the exchange of ideas. As there is a fresh breeze in the transmission industry, the same was true on the lake – accompanied by a lot of sun which dried away the only cloud in the sky.