THE Fairmont Ghia's standard four-speed automatic transmission is the system first adopted by Ford in late 1989, when it moved from a three-speed auto gearbox. It has been modified and improved since then, particularly in terms of service life, where the expectancy is now out to 250,000km. In the AU, work was put into making the shifts smoother and quieter, as well as extracting more economy, by revising the shift points.