First impressions: 2010 Subaru Legacy

[sjmmail2000-247]

I'm in Seattle (again!) and have just driven the 2010 Legacy, the all-new version of Subaru's all-wheel-drive mid-size sedan. Subaru has made some smart mid-size changes like expanding the back...
Read More: http://cars.about.com/b/2009/06/26/first-impressions-2010-subaru-legacy.htm

 

[Yousuf Khan]

I'm in Seattle (again!) and have just driven the 2010 Legacy, the all-new version of Subaru's all-wheel-drive mid-size sedan. Subaru has made some smart mid-size changes like expanding the back...
Read More: http://cars.about.com/b/2009/06/26/first-impressions-2010-subaru-legacy.htm

Hmmm, a CVT transmission has finally come to Subaru? I wonder how
reliable it will be? I haven't heard good things about CVT's elsewhere.

Yousuf Khan

 

[Carl 1 Lucky Texan]

Hmmm, a CVT transmission has finally come to Subaru? I wonder how
reliable it will be? I haven't heard good things about CVT's elsewhere.

Yousuf Khan

I think they invented a CVT - or at least popularized it with the old
Justy. I also think FHI makes the CVT in some Nissans.

hope it works out OK


Carl

 

[Hachiroku $B%O%A%m%/(B]

I think they invented a CVT - or at least popularized it with the old
Justy. I also think FHI makes the CVT in some Nissans.

hope it works out OK


Carl

Dating that, a Dutch company called DAF (they make big European trucks)
had a CVT back in the 60's/70's. They used a system of belts similar to
the setup on an old Bridgeport machine.

http://www.daf.eu/uk/Pages/Homepage_DAF_United_kingdom.aspx

Interesting...DAF is now wholly owned by PACCAR, the company in Washington
the makes Peterbuilts and Kenworths...

Seems i was a bit off:

A CVT, called Variomatic, was designed and built by Huub van Doorne,
co-founder of Van Doorne's Automobiel Fabriek (DAF), in the late 1950s,
specifically to produce an automatic transmission for a small, affordable
car. The first DAF car using van Doorne's CVT, the DAF 600,was produced in
1958. [6] Van Doorne's patents were later transferred to a company called
VDT (Van Doorne Transmissie B.V.) when the passenger car division was sold
to Volvo; its CVT was used in the Volvo 340.

http://www.geocities.com/ruudschols240/Volvo340.jpg

http://www.tocmp.com/pix/Europe/DAF/images/images2/folder daf600.jpg

Here's a picture of the humongous tranny, both in and out of the car...

http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2007/07/09/dafspotting/

 

[Carl 1 Lucky Texan]

I think they invented a CVT - or at least popularized it with the old
Justy. I also think FHI makes the CVT in some Nissans.

hope it works out OK


Carl

Dating that, a Dutch company called DAF (they make big European trucks)
had a CVT back in the 60's/70's. They used a system of belts similar to
the setup on an old Bridgeport machine.

http://www.daf.eu/uk/Pages/Homepage_DAF_United_kingdom.aspx

Interesting...DAF is now wholly owned by PACCAR, the company in Washington
the makes Peterbuilts and Kenworths...

Seems i was a bit off:

A CVT, called Variomatic, was designed and built by Huub van Doorne,
co-founder of Van Doorne's Automobiel Fabriek (DAF), in the late 1950s,
specifically to produce an automatic transmission for a small, affordable
car. The first DAF car using van Doorne's CVT, the DAF 600,was produced in
1958. [6] Van Doorne's patents were later transferred to a company called
VDT (Van Doorne Transmissie B.V.) when the passenger car division was sold
to Volvo; its CVT was used in the Volvo 340.

http://www.geocities.com/ruudschols240/Volvo340.jpg

http://www.tocmp.com/pix/Europe/DAF/images/images2/folder daf600.jpg

Here's a picture of the humongous tranny, both in and out of the car...

http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2007/07/09/dafspotting/

Yeah, I said 'A' CVT. I THINK a Citroen or Audi or ??? also had one at
one time.

Carl

 

[Carl 1 Lucky Texan]

Yousuf Khan wrote:
(e-mail address removed) wrote:
I'm in Seattle (again!) and have just driven the 2010 Legacy, the
all-new version of Subaru's all-wheel-drive mid-size sedan. Subaru
has made some smart mid-size changes like expanding the back...
Read More:
http://cars.about.com/b/2009/06/26/first-impressions-2010-subaru-legacy.htm


-----------------------------------
Subaru NewsHub: Latest auto news sourced from websites, portals and
blogs
http://www.carshops247.co.uk/news/Subaru.html
Hmmm, a CVT transmission has finally come to Subaru? I wonder how
reliable it will be? I haven't heard good things about CVT's elsewhere.

Yousuf Khan
I think they invented a CVT - or at least popularized it with the old
Justy. I also think FHI makes the CVT in some Nissans.

hope it works out OK


Carl

Dating that, a Dutch company called DAF (they make big European trucks)
had a CVT back in the 60's/70's. They used a system of belts similar to
the setup on an old Bridgeport machine.
http://www.daf.eu/uk/Pages/Homepage_DAF_United_kingdom.aspx

Interesting...DAF is now wholly owned by PACCAR, the company in
Washington
the makes Peterbuilts and Kenworths...

Seems i was a bit off:

A CVT, called Variomatic, was designed and built by Huub van Doorne,
co-founder of Van Doorne's Automobiel Fabriek (DAF), in the late 1950s,
specifically to produce an automatic transmission for a small, affordable
car. The first DAF car using van Doorne's CVT, the DAF 600,was
produced in
1958. [6] Van Doorne's patents were later transferred to a company called
VDT (Van Doorne Transmissie B.V.) when the passenger car division was
sold
to Volvo; its CVT was used in the Volvo 340.

http://www.geocities.com/ruudschols240/Volvo340.jpg

http://www.tocmp.com/pix/Europe/DAF/images/images2/folder daf600.jpg

Here's a picture of the humongous tranny, both in and out of the car...

http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2007/07/09/dafspotting/

Yeah, I said 'A' CVT. I THINK a Citroen or Audi or ??? also had one at
one time.

Carl

from Wikipedia (which has links to nany CVT designs);
History

Leonardo da Vinci, in 1490, conceptualized a stepless continuously
variable transmission. [3] The first patent for a toroidal CVT was filed
in Europe in 1886, and a US Patent for one was granted in 1935. [4]

In 1910 Zenith Motorcycles built a V2-Motorcycle with the Gradua-Gear
which was a CVT. This Zenith-Gradua was so successful in hillclimb
events, that it was eventually barred, so that other manufacturers had a
chance to win.

1912 the British motorcycle manufacturer Rudge-Whitworth built the Rudge
Multi. The Multi was a much improved version of Zenith's Gradua-Gear.
The Rudge Multi was so successful that CVT-gears were eventually barred
at the famous Tourist Trophy race (which was the world's most important
motorcycle race before the great war) from 1913 on.

In 1922 Browne offered a motorcycle with variable-stroke ratchet drive
using a face ratchet.[5]

An early application of CVT was in the British Clyno car, introduced in
1923.

A CVT, called Variomatic, was designed and built by Huub van Doorne,
co-founder of Van Doorne's Automobiel Fabriek (DAF), in the late 1950s,
specifically to produce an automatic transmission for a small,
affordable car. The first DAF car using van Doorne's CVT, the DAF
600,was produced in 1958. [6] Van Doorne's patents were later
transferred to a company called VDT (Van Doorne Transmissie B.V.) when
the passenger car division was sold to Volvo; its CVT was used in the
Volvo 340.

Many snowmobiles use a rubber belt CVT. In 1974, Rokon offered a
motorcycle with a rubber belt CVT.

In early 1987, Subaru launched the Justy in Tokyo with an electronically
controlled continuously variable transmission (ECVT) developed by Fuji
Heavy Industries, which owns Subaru. In 1989 the Justy became the first
production car in the U.S. to offer CVT technology. While the Justy saw
only limited success, Subaru continues to use CVT in its keicars to this
day, while also supplying it to other manufacturers.[7]

In the summer of 1987 the Ford Fiesta and Fiat Uno became the first
mainstream European cars to be equipped with steel-belted CVT (as
opposed to the less robust rubber-belted DAF design). This CVT, the Ford
CTX was developed by Ford, Van Doorne, and Fiat, with work on the
transmission starting in 1976.[7]

The 1992 Nissan March contained Nissan's N-CVT based on the Fuji Heavy
Industries ECVT.[7] In the late 1990s, Nissan designed its own CVT that
allowed for higher torque and included a torque converter. This gearbox
was used in a number of Japanese-market models. Nissan is also the only
car maker to bring roller-based CVT to the market in recent years. Their
toroidal CVT, named the Extroid, was available in the Japanese market
Y34 Nissan Gloria and V35 Skyline GT-8. However, the gearbox was not
carried over when the Cedric/Gloria was replaced by the Nissan Fuga in
2004. The Nissan Murano, introduced in 2003, and the Nissan Rogue,
introduced in 2007, also use CVT in their automatic transmission models.
In a Nissan Press Release, July 12, 2006 Nissan announced a huge shift
to CVT transmissions when they selected their [XTronic CVT technology]
[1]for all automatic versions of the Nissan Versa, Nissan Sentra, Nissan
Altima and Nissan Maxima vehicles in North America, making the CVT a
truly mainstream transmission system. One major motivator for Nissan to
make a switch to CVT's is as part of their 'Green Program 2010' aimed at
reducing CO2 emissions by 2010.

After studying pulley-based CVT for years, Honda also introduced their
own version on the 1995 Honda Civic VTi. Dubbed Honda Multi Matic, this
CVT gearbox accepted higher torque than traditional pulley CVTs, and
also includes a torque converter for "creep" action. The CVT is also
currently employed in the Honda City ZX that is manufactured in India
and Honda City Vario manufactured in Pakistan.

Toyota used a Power Split Transmission (PST) in the 1997 Prius, and all
subsequent Toyota and Lexus hybrids sold internationally continue to use
the system (marketed under the Hybrid Synergy Drive name). Although sold
as a ECVT it is in fact not such a device as the gear ratios are fixed.
The PST allows either the electric motor or the internal combustion
engine (ICE) or both to propel the vehicle. The response of the complete
system (under computer control) is similar in feel to a CVT in that the
ICE speed is relatively low and constant under low power or high and
constant under high power. Toyota also offers a non-hybrid CVT called
Multidrive for models such as Avensis.

Audi has, since 2000, offered a chain-type CVT as an option on some of
its larger-engine models, for example the A4 3.0 L V6.

BMW used a belt-drive CVT as an option for the low- and middle-range
MINI in 2001, forsaking it only on the supercharged version of the car
where the increased torque levels demanded a conventional automatic
gearbox. The CVT could also be manually "shifted" if desired with
software-simulated shift points.

Ford introduced a chain-driven CVT known as the CFT30 in their 2005 Ford
Freestyle, Ford Five Hundred and Mercury Montego. The transmission was
designed in cooperation with German automotive supplier ZF
Friedrichshafen and was produced in Batavia, Ohio at Batavia
Transmissions LLC (a subsidiary of Ford Motor Company) until March 22,
2007. The Batavia plant also produced the belt-driven CFT23 CVT which
went in the Ford Focus C-MAX. Ford also sold Escort and Orion models in
Europe with CVTs in the 1980s and 1990s.

Contract agreements were established in 2006 between MTD Products and
Torotrak for the first full toroidal system to be manufactured for
outdoor power equipment such as jet skis, ski-mobiles and ride-on mowers.[8]

The 2007 Dodge Caliber and the related Jeep Compass and Jeep Patriot
employ a CVT using a variable pulley system as their optional automatic
transmission.[9]

The 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer model is available with CVT transmission as
the automatic transmission. DE and ES models receive a standard CVT with
Drive and Low gears; the GTS model is equipped with a standard Drive and
also a Sportronic mode that allows the driver to use 6 different preset
gear ratios (either with the shifter or steering wheel-mounted paddle
shifters).

Subaru has again brought back CVT this time for its new 2010 Legacy. It
will be mated to a 2.5l 4 cylinder boxer engine. ******
******

 

[S.Hansen]

I think they invented a CVT - or at least popularized it with the old
Justy. I also think FHI makes the CVT in some Nissans.

hope it works out OK

Yes this is the first CVT in recent history. I have "new Model training on
the 8th of July, I'll let you know what they say.
Steve

 

[Hachiroku $B%O%A%m%/(B]

In 1910 Zenith Motorcycles built a V2-Motorcycle with the Gradua-Gear
which was a CVT. This Zenith-Gradua was so successful in hillclimb
events, that it was eventually barred, so that other manufacturers had a
chance to win.

I knew that. At one time. Totally forgot it!