Popular articles

Probably every transmission repair specialist was keen on LEGO constructions or at least enjoyed making some minor things with their hands. Here's the game taken to a new level of creativity!

Modern auto industry is full of sophisticated drivetrain technologies which are supposed to make your driving experience even more pleasant and trouble-free. Despite a great abundance of sophisticated technical solutions, it is highly likely that very few people know a transmission solution operating like a manual CVT.

Over recent years engineers developed a lot of gear shifting solutions for different car brands, which may seem a bit unusual for oldtime drivers. In this article we will review the most peculiar gear stick technologies and provide video materials related to these technologies.

Only few people know about transmission concepts which were popular 70-90 years ago. For men of today, these gearboxes may seem very unusual and weird, but even now some gearboxes that date back to those years are quite competitive in comparison with modern transmissions.

Nowadays Extroid CVTs are commonly known as “toroidal” due to the fact that the working surface of driving and driven discs in this transmission has the form of a torus. Extroid CVT is not a V-belt transmission, but a friction drive CVT.

ZF Appoints Former BorgWarner, Hella Exec to Board


ZF Appoints Former BorgWarner, Hella Exec to Board

ZF has recently announced the appointment of Dr. Martin Fischer, former Hella and BorgWarner (BW) executive, as a new member of the ZF executive board. It is planned that Mr. Fisher will join the board in early November and take the lead in driver assist systems, electronics, active and passive safety, the North and South America regions, and corporate quality. He will replace Franz Kleiner, who plans to retire at the beginning of next year.


Martin Fischer


Mr. Fischer, who has a phD in electrical engineering, started his labor activity at VDO, where he was specialized in chassis and wireless solutions. Subsequently in 2006, he joined the spare parts supplier Hella, where he was designated for managerial positions in Germany and the U.S. In eight years; Mr. Fischer got a job in BW, where he worked as a vice-president and chief executive of the turbo charger division. In 2018, Fischer became the head of BW's global transmissions solutions entity. In that position, he was in charge of BW’s 18-site transmission systems business.


According to ZF, Mr. Fisher has a wealth of experience in decision-making positions at big automotive companies. For almost twenty years of meticulous work in the auto industry, Mr. Fisher managed to gain invaluable expertise in the field of electronics and facilitated to implementation of the BW’s strategy of shifting from standard to electrified gearboxes.


Franz Kleiner


ZF also expresses its great appreciation to retiring Franz Kleiner, who played a key role in the incorporation of TRW, which ZF purchased in 2015. Mr. Kleiner played a key role in ZF’s international growth and the company wishes him best of luck in all of his future endeavors.

Popular articles

Probably every transmission repair specialist was keen on LEGO constructions or at least enjoyed making some minor things with their hands. Here's the game taken to a new level of creativity!

Modern auto industry is full of sophisticated drivetrain technologies which are supposed to make your driving experience even more pleasant and trouble-free. Despite a great abundance of sophisticated technical solutions, it is highly likely that very few people know a transmission solution operating like a manual CVT.

Over recent years engineers developed a lot of gear shifting solutions for different car brands, which may seem a bit unusual for oldtime drivers. In this article we will review the most peculiar gear stick technologies and provide video materials related to these technologies.

Only few people know about transmission concepts which were popular 70-90 years ago. For men of today, these gearboxes may seem very unusual and weird, but even now some gearboxes that date back to those years are quite competitive in comparison with modern transmissions.

Nowadays Extroid CVTs are commonly known as “toroidal” due to the fact that the working surface of driving and driven discs in this transmission has the form of a torus. Extroid CVT is not a V-belt transmission, but a friction drive CVT.