The electronic transfer case. Well I'd really like to see exactly what they went with. When GM first started with the push-button type, it was really just the same transfercase as before, only where the linkage used to hook up there was an electric stepper motor. I like the same t-case idea, and the motor does have the advantage of being direct mounted ie; no linkage to get knocked/popped of in extreme 4X4 conditions. Admittedly at first I was skeptical of the reliabilty, but the great thing was, the shifter shaft stuck right thru the motor... no matter what happened to the motor, you could always put a wrench on the shaft, and shift into whatever you needed. I liked that feature, but I doubt we'll see it like that anymore. Still I worried, but as the years went by, I noticed that I worked on a lot more 4X4's with linkage/shifter problems than I ever did electrical ones... So I guess I'm ok with it.
Now for our beloved X, what I don't want to see is some air or fluid shifted unit controlled via solenoid valves (or heaven forbid huge electro-magnetic clutches...). Not just yet anyway. I know they work ok in the auto trans but I'm still just a little skeptical.
Heck, I guess we can live with just about everything. The new X has no throttle cable, just electronics, and if you can trust it to run the throttle, why not the t-case too? MV
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