Nation's Leading Mobility Industry Executives and Governmental Leaders Convene; Policy Forum in Nation's Capital

  WHO:     Society of Automotive Engineers, International (SAE)

  WHAT:    2003 SAE Government/Industry Meeting

  WHEN:    Conference Dates - May 12-14, 2003

  WHERE:   Loews L'Enfant Plaza Hotel, Washington, D.C., USA

Top mobility industry executives and governmental officials will discuss the future of the automotive industry when the Society of Automotive Engineers, International (SAE) convenes its 21st Government/Industry Meeting next week in Washington, D.C.

This year's event carries the theme "Driving Tomorrow's Technology" and covers a host of hot button automotive topics, ranging from safety standards to on-board diagnostic (OBD) systems to emissions to developing fueling infrastructures for future vehicles. Also featured is an opening plenary session on Monday morning -- titled "A Look Ahead" -- in which a panel of renowned automotive experts will discuss the issues and challenges facing the industry in the areas of economics, energy, safety, and the environment. Slated to participate in the panel are: Sean McAlinden, Director, Economics and Business Group, Center for Automotive Research; Paul Portney, President, Research for the Future; William B. Hanna, Chief Engineer, Occupant Protection Systems, Delphi Safety & Interior Systems; and Scott Schmidt, Alliance of Automotive Manufacturers (moderator).

For the first time, this year's meeting will also feature exhibit tabletop displays from automotive equipment and service providers (nine (9) exhibits will be on display). One such vendor, Wagner Engineering, will introduce its Link-X Stability System (Link-X) at the conference. Link-X is a new, anti- roll/anti-pitch suspension technology for SUVs, Trucks, ATVs, and other tall vehicles.

The Government/Industry Meeting also includes the annual Environmental Excellence in Transportation (E2T) Award Luncheon. The E2T award recognizes individuals (and in some cases, groups of individuals) who, through their ingenuity and dedication, make significant innovations in reducing the environmental impact of the transportation industry.

For more information or to register for the meeting, please visit www.sae.org/govind. For media inquiries, contact Keith Hancock at 724.772.8516 or at khancock@sae.org.

SAE is a non-profit engineering and scientific organization dedicated to the advancement of mobility technology to better serve humanity. Nearly 84,000 engineers and scientists who are SAE members develop technical information on all forms of self-propelled vehicles, including automobiles, aircraft, aerospace craft, trucks, buses, marine, rail and transit machinery. This information is disseminated through SAE meetings, books, electronic products and databases, technical papers, standards, reports, and professional development programs.

PRNewswire -- May 7