The Prius That Shook.. - VFAQ Prius Site

was electronically controlled, another was partially
mechanically controlled, and the other was controlled with a
CVT.
If the emphasis was to begin production as soon as
possible, the mechanical control method was the best choice
by far because of previous knowledge and experience. The
CVT control system also was a good choice because it
already had been built once for the 1995 Motor Show.
On the other hand, Toyota had little experience with
electronic control. One had been developed for EVs so there
were some prospects for success, but it was not cost effective,
because it needed two motors and an inverter.
There was hope that electronic controls eventually
would become much cheaper to produce since ICs, such as
semiconductors, were dramatically getting more powerful.
The control unit itself would be compact because it would
be controlled only with a decelerator, without a transmission.
In addition, there was a possibility that electronic control
systems would be used in future FCEVs, as well as in hybrid
vehicles.
Discussions to select one of the three systems continued
but the three engineers who were in charge of the three
systems were beginning to develop a bias towards their own
system.
Matsui, who had built the second and already
disqualified system, had been assigned to BR-VF from the
Drive Train Engineering Division. Born in Osaka, he
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