Delphi's MagneRide(TM) Technology Makes Appearance At General Motors 2003 Full Line Preview Event

DETROIT, June 19 -- Delphi Corp.'s MagneRide(TM) suspension technology is taking vehicle handling and comfort to a new level. More than 150 journalists will get the opportunity to "feel" the benefits of MagneRide at the General Motors 2003 Full Line Preview, June 19-21. The event will be held at three locations in Metro Detroit: Milan Dragway, Milford Proving Ground, and Domino's Farms.

Journalists will have the opportunity to drive and ride in more than 100 General Motors vehicles from each market segment, including the 2002 Cadillac Seville STS and 50th anniversary edition of the Chevrolet Corvette for the 2003 model year. These specific models offer MagneRide as standard equipment. MagneRide is also available as an option on most Corvette models. The 2002 Seville STS and the 50th anniversary edition Corvette will appear at the Milan Dragway.

MagneRide is replacing Delphi's Continuously Variable Real-Time Damping (CVRTD) system, which was previously standard equipment on the Cadillac Seville STS. General Motors markets MagneRide as Magnetic Ride Control on the Cadillac Seville and Magnetic Selective Ride Control on the Corvette.

"MagneRide builds on CVRTD and is viewed within the industry as a differentiating technology," said R. Scott Bailey, director of engineering, Delphi Energy & Chassis Systems. "This translates into increased ride and handling performance for the end consumer. MagneRide brings these benefits to both luxury and performance vehicles, while at the same time eliminating certain compromises engineers must often make in designing suspensions," said Bailey.

MagneRide is a high-performance, semi-active suspension control system that responds in real time to road and driving conditions based on input from sensors that monitor body and wheel motions. The system provides fast, smooth, continuously variable damping in a cost effective and reliable package that reduces body motion and increases tire road contact on all types of surfaces.

"Delphi's industry-leading MagneRide technology will give General Motors an important advantage in the marketplace," said Mike McCurdy, business line executive, ride dynamics, Delphi Energy & Chassis Systems. "With MagneRide, vehicle owners will notice better ride quality, less body roll and improvements in overall handling."

Consumer Benefits: MagneRide(TM) provides improved comfort, performance and safety from one revolutionary system, through: * Greater sense of safety and security due to improved wheel control; * Minimized vehicle body motion for a flatter ride and more precise, responsive handling; * Reduction of small road disturbances; * Improved load transfer characteristics, providing better roll control and steering precision during sudden, high-speed maneuvers; and * A quieter, more refined ride due to improved road isolation.

Operation:

The system uses Magneto-Rheological (MR) fluids and valve-less dampers to provide a wide range of damping force control with unparalleled responsiveness and authority. The MR fluid consists of soft iron particles suspended in a synthetic hydraulic fluid. When current is applied to an electromagnetic coil inside the damper's piston, the resulting magnetic field aligns iron particles, changing the rheology of the fluid i.e., its resistance to flow, and thus produces a mechanically simple but very responsive and controllable damping action without any valves. An onboard controller continually adjusts the damping forces up to once every millisecond based on input from four suspension displacement sensors, a lateral accelerometer and a steering wheel angle sensor. And on the Chevrolet Corvette, the driver can select between a tour mode that optimizes ride comfort and a sport mode that enhances driver feedback and handling performance.

Comments on Delphi's MagneRide:

"MagneRide is one of the best automotive technologies I've seen in a decade. It's an important breakthrough, and I consider it on par with stability control. "

Jack Keebler, Motor Trend, April 2002

"A 2002 Seville we drove possessing MagneRide felt eerily supple over bumps yet incongruently crisp during turn-in. In my book, this is an engineering advance comparable with the starter motor and independent suspension ... "

Kim Reynolds, Road & Track, July 2000

"On a familiar stretch of two-lane road characterized by treacherous camel-hump features -- 'familiar' only because we've been seriously airborn and scraped oil pans on this road more times than we'd like press-fleet administrators to know -- the MR-equipped vehicle is almost magical ... handling speeds that quite possibly would damage or even cause serious loss of control in a conventionally sprung vehicle."

Brian Corbett & Bill Visnic, Ward's Auto World, June 2000

"The Corvette's been renowned for excellent handling. With this technology on board, it handles even better, and the ride comfort also improves. With the car held flat and stable, with well controlled ride motions, it really is a pleasure to drive, no matter how long the journey."

Dave Hill, vehicle line executive, GM Performance Cars and chief engineer,

Chevrolet Corvette

Awards for Delphi's MagneRide:

International Automotive World award for best use of materials, given by a panel of top automotive business and technology journalists, 2000.

One of the 100 "Best of What's New" technical achievements of 1999 by Popular Science magazine.

Grand Prix Internationaux de la Creation Technique, Prix Special de Jury (Special Grand Jury Prize for New International Technology) given by an association of 30 journalists at the 1999 E'quip Auto trade show in Paris.