It would appear that the trend in an increasingly higher number of gears in automatic transmissions is continuing at Chrysler as the new Jeep Grand Cherokee will receive a 6-speed automatic for 2012. As we’ve reported to you earlier, Chrysler is putting 9-speed automatics in their small front wheel drive cars soon, and 8-speed automatics in their large rear wheel drive cars. Even the Jeep Wrangler will receive an upgrade to a 5-speed automatic!

According to Allpar, the 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee will receive the 65RFE six-speed automatic in the continued quest to improve fuel economy. Multispeed automatic transmissions give the engine a change to stay in it’s most efficient RPM range, thereby increasing fuel economy at all speeds.

Other areas aside from the transmission are being addressed as well as it’s reported that  Jeep will switch to an electro-hydraulic power steering system on V6 models that will cut weight and reduce parasitic drag on the engine that would normally be lost in turning a belt driven pump.

Of course, true gearheads are most interested in speed first and economy second, and Jeep fans are already eying the new 2012 Grand Cherokee SRT8 shown here. Chrysler claims a 0-60 of 4.8 seconds, mid-13 quarter miles, and an estimated 13% increase in gas mileage over the prior Jeep SRT8 despite the increased engine output of 465 hp and 465 lb-ft of torque. That’s right kids, it’s actually possible to have both speed and economy!