Overview and Design of Near Net-Formed Spherical Involute Straight
Bevel Gears
First line in the report: "Near net-formed straight bevel gears are used extensively in the automotive industry today"

Here's the link.
http://ijme.us/cd_11/PDF/Paper%20161%20ENG%20107.pdf

This paper talks about all the positive aspects but early designs were not so successful.