Lockheed's clutch may face stiff competition
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• AP Lockheed has finally found a buyer for its Automatic Clutch and Throttle System, although it could soon have stiff competition from rival Valeo, which has developed a similar system.
AP's clutch system came onto the market about a year ago, and it is now on trials with "a major commercial vehicle manufacturer" and there is "an intention of going into volume production before 1991".
Valeo's rival system will be fitted to a Ferrari passenger car next year, and the company has expressed its plans to sell the system to a commercial vehicle manufacturer.
Both systems work on the same basic principles by electronically monitoring the position of the accelerator, the gear lever and the clutch. During gearchanging the system takes control of the accelerator and the clutch, synchronising the position of both.
Neither company is prepared to give the price of its system, although AP says that the ACTS will cost "half-way between an automatic and a manual gearbox".