This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (October 2008)

Allison Transmission

Type	Transmission Manufacturing
Founded	Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. 1915
Founder(s)	James A. Allison
Headquarters	Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.A.
Owner(s)	The Carlyle Group and Onex Corporation
Website	http://www.allisontransmission.com/

Allison Transmission a manufacturer of commercial duty automatic transmissions and hybrid propulsion systems. Allison products are specified by over 250 of the world’s leading vehicle manufacturers and are used in many market sectors including bus, refuse, fire, construction, distribution, military and specialty applications. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, Allison Transmission has regional offices all over the world and manufacturing facilities in Indianapolis, Indiana and Szentgotthard, Hungary.

Contents 1 History 2 Timeline 2.1 1940's 2.2 1950's 2.3 1960's 2.4 1970's 2.5 1980's 2.6 1990's 2.7 2000's 3 Products 4 Major Component Groups 5 Hybrid buses transit clients 6 References 7 External links 7.1 Hybrid buses

[edit] History

Allison began in 1909 when James A. Allison, along with three business partners, helped found and build the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In 1911, Allison’s new track held the first Indianapolis 500 mile race. In addition to funding several race teams, Jim Allison established his own racing team in 1915 and quickly gained a reputation for his work on race cars and automotive technology in general.

When World War I began, Allison suspended racing and his company began machining parts, tools and masters for the Liberty airplane engine — the main power plant used in the U.S. war effort. After the war, Allison entered a car in the 1919 Indy 500 and won. It was the last race Allison’s team ever entered. Instead, he turned his company’s attention to aviation engineering. The company’s expertise in aviation was the major factor in General Motors decision to buy the company following Jim Allison’s death in 1928.

Shortly after the sale to General Motors in 1929, Allison engineers began work on a 12-cylinder engine to replace the aging Liberty engines. The result was the V1710 12-cylinder aircraft engine and it made the company, now known as the Allison Engine Company, a major force in aviation.

Toward the end of World War II, General Motors formed Allison Transmission to put the engineers’ expertise to work in a new field — power transmissions for tracked military vehicles. The new division developed a transmission combining range change, steering and braking.

After World War II, Allison Transmission turned its attention to powering the civilian transportation market. Allison designed, developed and manufactured the first-ever automatic transmissions for heavy-duty vehicles like delivery trucks, city buses and even locomotives. The days of laborious manual shifting were over and a new, modern era of commercial transportation was ushered in.

[edit] Timeline

[edit] 1940's

• 1949—Allison begins production of CD-850 tank transmission, division’s most historically significant transmission
• December 1949—First rail car transmission is produced; installed in Budd Rail Car

[edit] 1950's

• April 1952—10,000th transmission is delivered to U.S. Army
• January 1956—Allison introduces on-highway automatic, employing a four-element torque converter, six forward speeds, one reverse
• October 1959—100,000th Allison commercial transmission is built

[edit] 1960's

• October 1960—First Allison XT-1410-2 transmission is produced
• June 1961—Allison announces MT Series transmissions
• July 1962—Allison TT-2000 Hydro Powershift transmission is introduced
• March 1965—Introduction of dual path DP-8000, largest single-package Allison Powershift transmission to date
• July 1966—Allison announces new DP-8960 for large off-highway trucks
• November 1966—Lithium-chlorine fuel cell is unveiled
• October 1967—First prototype of the Allison-equipped U.S. Army main battle tank is unveiled in Washington, D.C.
• February 1969—Allison introduces electric gearshift control system for off-highway vehicles
• July 1969--Apollo 11 astronauts make man’s first landing on the moon; Allison propellant tanks are part of the descent stage

[edit] 1970's

• September 1970—Merge with Detroit Diesel Engine to form Detroit Diesel Allison Division, headquarters in Detroit
• January 1971—Allison introduces first 4-speed automatic transmission for 72,000 lb (33,000 kg). GVW highway vehicles; Allison model HT-740
• April 1973—First fully automatic transmission for large trucks, scrapers and other types of heavy-duty off-highway vehicles is introduced; Allison model CLBT 750
• 1974—First European office is established
• October 1974—Technician’s Guild is added to sales and service training programs to upgrade diesel engine and heavy-duty transmission servicing skills
• December 1976—Brazil office is established
• April 1978—Production begins of X-1100 transmission for new M1A1 Abrams tank
• 1979—Development of Allison SCAAN helps ensure transmissions function properly in various installations

[edit] 1980's

• October 1982—A new generation heavy-duty automatic transmission, the Allison DP 8962, is announced; incorporates over 15 new technology internal changes
• May 1983—GM sells Allison Gas Turbine Division; Allison becomes part of newly formed GM Power Products and Defense Operations Group
• June 1986—First X200 military transmission is released
• December 1987—Detroit Diesel Allison becomes Allison Transmission, Division of General Motors
• February 1988—New automatic transmission for use in Class A motorhomes is released; Allison model AT 542

[edit] 1990's

• February 1991—Allison introduces electronically controlled World Transmissions
• November 1995—Allison adopts lean manufacturing principles and begins implementing Allison Production System (APS), a cellular manufacturing system; some 10,000 machines and support equipment are re-arranged through all plants
• 1999--Hybrid bus program is demonstrated for New York City Transit Authority
• June 1999—Allison introduces 1000 Series and 2000 Series fully automatic transmissions

[edit] 2000's

• 2000—Production begins at plant in Szentgotthard, Hungary
• 2000--Hybrid electric program is launched
• June 2000—Allison Transmission website is launched providing real-time public access
• September 2000—Test Track 2000 is first customer ride and drive simulating real-world operating conditions; held at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida
• January 2001—Allison unveils first-of-its-kind parallel hybrid technology
• February 2003—Allison Transmission aligns with GM Powertrain
• November 2003—Allison's Ultimate Truck Driving Adventure takes ride and drive experience to extremes in the high desert of Nevada
• November 2003—Allison Vocational Models are released to better serve specific applications
• May 2005--Shanghai Customization Center is opened
• 2006—Continued record sales of Allison Automatics is achieved
• 2007—5,000,000th Allison commercial transmission is produced
• June 2007—GM announced that it was selling Allison Transmission to private equity firms The Carlyle Group and Onex Corporation, in a deal valued at $5.6 billion.^[1]. The transaction closed on August 7, 2007.
• 2008—Allison introduces on-board prognostics on model-year 2009 automatic transmissions
• 2009—Allison has recently taken about a 10% stake in U.K.-based Torotrak ^[2]

[edit] Products

PAST PRODUCTS

• Allison V transmission—VH, VH2, VH4, VH5, VH6, VH7, VH9, VS1, VS2-6,VS2-8, V730, V731, VR731, VR731RH
• Allison MH marine reverse and reduction gear
• Allison AT transmission—AT540, AT542, AT543, AT545
• Allison MT transmission—MT640, MT643, MT644, MT647, MT648, MT650, MT653DR, MT654CR, MTB643, MTB644, MTB647, MTB648, MTB653DR, MTB654CR, MT30, MT41,MT42
• Allison HT transmission—HT740D, HT740RS, HT741, HT746, HT747, HT748, HTB748, HT750CRD, HT750DRD, HT754CRD, HT755CRD, HT755DRD, HTB755CRD, HTB755DRD
• Allison World Transmission—MD3060, MD3060P, MD3560, MD3560P, MD3066, MD3066P, HD4060, HD4060P, HD4560, HD4560P, B300, B300R, B400, B400R, B500, B500R

CURRENT NORTH AMERICAN PRODUCTS

• Allison Highway Series
• Allison Rugged Duty Series
• Allison Pupil Transport/Shuttle Series
• Allison Bus Series
• Allison Emergency Vehicle Series
• Allison Motorhome Series
• Allison Truck RV Series
• Allison Specialty Series
• Allison Oil Field Series
• GM-Allison Hybrid—EP40 & EP50 Hybrid Electric Drive Units

CURRENT INTERNATIONAL PRODUCTS

• Allison 1000/2000 Series
• GM-Allison Hybrid—EP40 & EP50 Hybrid Electric Drive Units

[edit] Major Component Groups

Allison transmissions are made up of ten different modules. A module is an isolated section of the transmission. There is a torque converter module which is used to multiply torque. The torque converter housing module which is simply just a casing around the torque converter. The control module which is the brains of the transmission. The front support/charging pump module which supports the front of the transmission. The Rotating Clutch Module which is a series of rotating clutches used to engage gears. The rear cover module and the main shaft module are self explanatory they are the rear cover and main shaft of the transmission. The P1 and P2 planetary module are the gears of the transmission. Last there is the main housing module which is the main casing of the transmission.

[edit] Hybrid buses transit clients

GM-Allison debuted the hybrid technology for transit buses in 2003. Through 2011, it intends to introduce 16 hybrid models. ^[3]

In 2008, the number of GM-Allison hybrid buses are more than 2,700 units in 81 cities in the U.S., Canada and Europe. ^[3]. This includes:

• ABQ RIDE
• Dresden, Germany
• King County Metro Transit Authority
• Minneapolis-Saint Paul Metro Transit
• Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
• Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority
• Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Allison Transmission Official site

[edit] Hybrid buses

• Hybrid buses will save an estimated 2.4 million gallons of fuel annually in Washington D.C., Philadelphia and Minneapolis/St. Paul
• Low-Emissions Hybrid Buses.

Coordinates: 39°43′57.37″N -86°12′36.22″E / 39.7326028°N 85.7899389°W / 39.7326028; -85.7899389