Excellent CVT video demonstration by a college instructor
 

Ran across this instructional youtube video, which answered my questions about how the CVT works.

Extremely knowledgeable speaker demonstrating with a cutaway transmission.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c47caRqbbnE

nice find! I've always been curious about the cvt tranny and how it operates.

Most hybrid cvts are called e-cvts that use a power splitter or ring and sun gear like the prius.

Good demo, and nice find.

True - it's not exclusively for hybrids, and some hybrids don't use the belt system. So I'll move this out to general efficency discussion.