Transmatic gets on the road at last
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IE PRINCIPLE of the Van Doorne Transmatic automatic transmisms system has at last been adapted for road vehicle use, but it iII only be fitted to front-wheel drive cars and light vans with 'gine capacities from 1.1 to two-litre maximum.
Originally the Transmatic was !signed for heavy commercial !hides, but the new version, lied the CVT (Continuously Iriable Transmission), is an ingral unit using the concept of a etallic belt drive and cones to • ovide a multiplicity of ratios. According to Borg Warner, hich has a 24 per cent share in 3n Doorne and which has been ,sponsible for the CVT, the -ansmatic is aimed at the lotor industry's growth area — rel-efficient, medium-size, ont-wheel-drive cars and vans. Director of engineering Derek ardner claims that the CVT 'ould probably be at least as .::onomical as a conventional earbox set up and would give a moother ride.
However, he thought that conentional automatic boxes, like le Borg Warner type 71, would tay for vehicles of conventional iyout — particularly executive aloons and front engined, rearheel-drive vans.
The way ahead for automatics, aid Mr Gardner, lies in linking lem electronically to engine lectronics, which would hapen within the next five years. his would give the sort of fuel conomy results users would xpect in the next 20 years. He dismissed the idea of Borg Warner entering the heavy vehicles automatic field, saying that though the company had considered a project to develop a bus transmission for a particular manufacturer, it had not proved financially viable.
On Borg Warner's plans for the future, recently appointed UK managing director Ken Thorpe said that "unpalatable decisions" affecting both workers and management would be needed at the Port Talbot plant. Nevertheless, the 1,307 staff were currently in full employment and the potential to expand "within the changing British economy" was there.
He pointed out that 4.5 per cent of Borg Warner's revenue was invested in research and development — a higher proportion than that of most other cornpanies.