So what? I'm sure many companies have put some manhours into inventing a better Torsen. How hard could it be? Not that many parts, been around for years, what's the problem with coming up with something better? Did Toyota change it, no. Did Nissan or ANY manufacturer redesign it as well as Torvec AND get a patent on their improvement, no.
Same deal with the CV joint. Why is it with all the resources of all the world's 'leading' manufacturers, the best they can do is 52 degrees and the tiny Trovec team comes out with TWO designs within a couple of years that are stronger, easier to makes and the last one works at 60 degrees deflection. Think about who could use cheaper, stronger CV that would give the most ground clearance. That invention is ready to go on any line RIGHT NOW.
Steer Drive, I.C.E., the FTV are icing on the cake for any company head that goes around his board of directors and transmission division, to work out a deal with Torvec. Is Eaton a big company? Yet with all their resources, even they would LOVE to swap their modified earthmover pump for a Torvec pump. IT would make their entire energy recovery design more efficient and more adaptable for vehicles smaller than a city bus.
Going into production is the big test? OK, who else is going to the moon? An Asian company, Getrag, Jatco? I guess they couldn't produce a workable design to match what tiny Torvec produced. They may not have even been considered as not advanced enough. Going into production. I wonder how close the school bus program is to moving forward. The state budget will have to be approved and funds dispersed this year. In fact funding is flowing right now. Is there pressure from the state to do the program? I think so since they are welding soot traps in school bus exhaust pipes now. Since NY and CA are racing to see who is greener. Since lots of state money is being spent on alternative energy right now. I think 55,000 school buses loaded with kids would have to be considered 'production'.
The problem is exactly what you say - 'seeking their OWN solution'. Which is why the world is flooded with electric clutches, paddle shifting, belts, pulleys, chains, bent axels, and other, BIG, complex, slightly better than what is already in use, designs. Build all the plants you want, it only takes one manufacturer or program to fundamentally change the playing field. I believe that company is Torvec and whoever they partner with or whoever buys their tech.
NASA's no time for hype selection of Torvec confirms the efficiency of their design. Even a casual review of their CV joint makes it obvious that they have something special. When you run your IVT for several years to EPA test specs, in several different vehicles with different engines and you have a design that does NOT require any redesign of engine bays or bodywork, THAT is production ready. It does NOT require special, exotic, manufacturing, it's been tested, AND the patents are rock solid. It is production ready. It's going to work on the harshest conditions mankind can find and it is ready to transport you kids more efficiently than anything any current transmission manufacturer can build. I'm sure they would argue differently, but they better hurry. Before they know it they might be passed by a NY school bus with a Torvec designed IVT. Koenigsegg is a whole nother story.
The conventional thinking is an interesting mental block. Conventional thinking is what led Ford to put a conventional CVT into their Ford 500 car. Too bad. If Ford wasn't thinking so conventionally, they might have tried harder to put a Torvec IVT into their car. Then they would have had a LOT more power to the wheels with Prius plus gains in fuel economy at exactly the right time for them. Instead they hedged their bets and took a baby step towards greener fuel savings. It flopped. No real difference in fuel savings and doggish performance. Now the entire company is on the brink of going down the tubes.
At the end of all this is the hardware. Doesn't matter how much money was spent on it or how many manhours were used to make it. How WELL does it work? Every test so far seems to confirm that the Gleasman family has the better idea, from Torsen to IVt to a simple joint that is stronger and yet bends more. The engineering isn't the issue, the problem is what is all this worth and who wants it more?
