Quote:
Originally Posted by BigRigMike
I would consider the number of mass produced hybrid systems to be 4. Honda, Toyota, Ford, Two-Mode (GM, Daimler, BMW...). Ford and Toyota's system are extremely similar but were developed independently. They had a cross licensing agreement because each needed patents from the other but no money was exchanged. The new Fusion Hybrid does not use any patents held by Toyota and I think the new Prius does not use any Ford patents. The Nissan Altima hybrid is straight from a Camry Hybrid.
|
Thanks for the info, I was just trying to dumb it down little more. I'm no tech, but Toyota does hold several patents on components that are not covered by the licensing agreements and some of its shared components are bought by Ford and Nissan. I was trying to keep it basic and just make some quick references.
I was shock at how much I though I new and now am better informed. I wish GM would be more proactive and they really dropped the ball. Toyota is producing electric power rack and pinon and AC units on some of their cars now that all came from hybrid tech. Stuff like this could go a long way in fuel savings and add HP to any car and why Toyota seems to be killing everyone in auto sales in general.