North American International Auto Show 2008
General Motors Corp. uses plastics and the design of the rear lighting to give its Cadillac CTS Coupe a "hint" of a tail fin, GM Vice President of global design Ed Welburn said during the coupe's introduction. Dave Dyke, advanced engineering manager for Meridian Automotive Systems Inc., noted that the highly rated concept also could mean more business for composites because the body's shape would be hard to create in metal.
OK, forget about the plastics content and ask yourself ... if you can afford a Ferrari, are you really looking for bio-fuel?
Two auto interior design trends show up on the Chevy Malibu on display at the General Motors Corp. booth, said Dave Phillips, executive director of interiors business development for Johnson Controls Inc. The companies are embracing a wider range of colors, especially the rust-colored trim on the door. Those colors also play into the desire to use contrasting colors within the car to break up the sea of black plastic that had become familiar as carmakers tried to cut costs.
GM's Corvette has created its own version of the European "Super Car" with its 2009 ZR1. The car uses carbon fiber in its hood, fenders, roof, front bumper fascia and rocker panels molded by Plasan Sasa Ltd. in Bennington, Vt. But GM doesn't want drivers to forget about the 620-horsepower engine under that carbon fiber, so it created a polycarbonate window in the hood to show it off. (GM photo)
Corvette drivers see leather, but International Automotive Components Group North America Inc. wraps that leather around a polyolefin substrate that allows it to hide a seamless airbag, said Ken Shaner, vice president of advanced engineering for IAC.
Carbon-fiber engine components, anyone?
Audi's R8 V-12 concept sports car includes plenty of carbon-fiber touches, including exterior trim. An interior supplier noted that it looked good, but wondered why the automaker is using it in nonstructural parts.
The Audi S8's interior drew crowds and raves from auto suppliers, including those making doors for competing vehicles. But one fan wondered if the optional carbon fiber in place of wood grain makes sense in the long run. "Is someone going to look at this five years from now and say: "That's so 2008"?
More North American automakers have been adapting a new frame for their cars with an open front end, which allows workers better access to install the engine, said Meridian's David Dyke. At the same time, that means more business and more content for front-end suppliers with plastic or plastic-metal hybrid beams stretching across the front of the car, visible here stretching in a "C" shape from one fender to the other between the engine and the radiator. That beam then becomes the carrier for the radiator, headlights, fascia and other components assembled off-site, shipped in one or two modules and attached to the rest of the car.
The front-end carriers have extensive structural ribs, Meridian's Dyke pointed out. Direct long-fiber thermoplastic is often used in passenger cars and small crossover vehicles.
The 2008 Jeep Liberty from Chrysler LLC is the first full door interior made by International Automotive Components North America Inc. using its two-shot molding process. The door uses polyolefin with a special blend of thermoplastic elastomer in key spots. Maurice Sessel, vice president of product engineering, pointed out that the company is working with a greater variety of blends for future programs.
Ford Motor Co. has not identified the supplier of its optional step to access the pickup truck bed on its new F-150 -- though plastics suppliers guessed it would be blow molded. The step can be retracted beneath the bed and deployed into use with one touch. One supplier said she'd love it, since she can never reach into the bed of her truck, but one interior parts maker wondered how easily it would be damaged when the truck is used off-road.
