ASC Announces New Design and Technical Center in Southern California

Another Step in Company's Growing West Coast Presence

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif., Dec. 16 -- ASC Incorporated, a full-service specialty-vehicle design and development partner for automotive manufacturers, here today announced the opening of the ASC California Design and Technical Center, the company's new base for serving the design and related technical needs of all West Coast-based automakers.

"ASC is expanding in California in a big way with this new facility," said Paul Wilbur, ASC's president and chief executive officer. "Southern California now plays host to at least 15 OEM design studios representing auto companies from around the globe, and with this new facility in Huntington Beach, ASC is centrally located to serve all of them conveniently. With design and styling becoming more and more a critical differentiator in today's automotive marketplace, this center provides automakers with ready access to a creative resource with a proven track record in all aspects of design and vehicle development, from concept cars all the way up to full vehicles like the current Chevrolet SSR for which ASC produces no fewer than 42 major subassemblies."

The 18,000-sq.-ft. facility here has three design surface plates, a metal shop, milling facilities and painting facilities. Its convenient location, noted Wilbur, includes easy access to the 405 Freeway, a main artery in the Los Angeles area.

"Design has long been a pillar of ASC's business model," said Mark Trostle, ASC's chief creative officer and the ASC executive with direct oversight of the new Huntington Beach facility. "That was underscored this year by ASC's being recognized by Business Week magazine for our role as co- designer, along with General Motors, of the Gold-medal-award-winning Chevy SSR in their prestigious annual design competition for industrial products of all kinds, along with other Gold winners such as the Apple iPod Mini and the Airfoil Pro triathlon bicycle."

Over the company's 39-year history, Trostle noted, ASC has helped automakers bring many landmark vehicles to life, including the 1987 Buick Grand National GNX, which the October 2004 issue of Automobile magazine named as one of the "100 Coolest Cars" ever; the 1984 ASC McLaren Ford Mustang model, much valued by collectors; and the 1995 Mitsubishi 3000 GT Spyder, the world's first modern retractable hardtop.

ASC also has designed and/or built numerous memorable concept cars in its history, including the 1997 Lexus RX 300; the 2000 Buick LaCrosse; the 2000 GM Precept; the ASC SO-CAL SSR, winner of General Motors' Best Design award at the 2003 Specialty Equipment and Market Association show; the ASC Diamondback, a fixed-roof, all-carbon-fiber-from the belt-line-up, 500-horsepower street rocket based on the SSR platform which premiered at SEMA 2004; and the ASC Dearborn Deuce Convertible, a 1932 Ford replica featuring a modern convertible top, real side windows that are electrically operated and three inches more interior room, which won two SEMA design awards at SEMA 2004.

"In some ways, ASC is 'coming home,'" said Wilbur, "in that Los Angeles is where ASC's founder, the late Heinz Prechter, first got his start in 1965, after emigrating to America from Germany with just $11 in his pocket. This past year, Heinz joined the likes of Henry Ford, Billy Durant, Walter P. Chrysler, Kiichiro Toyoda and scores of other legends as he was posthumously inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame -- an honor that the current leadership of ASC works hard to live up to every day."

ASC also will be continuing its relationship, begun in 2003, with the SO- CAL Speed Shop in Pomona, Calif., noted Wilbur. "SO-CAL, a hallowed name in street-rodding and celebrity cars in southern California, will continue to be a partner of ASC," said Wilbur. "Among other things, we'll be continuing to look to SO-CAL for inspiration as ASC works to inject a certain, unique 'American-ness' in our design work for our automaker customers."

ASC now has five design centers in North America, employing more than 130 design professionals out of the company's 1,000 total employees. ASC's design capabilities include styling and concept ideation, Alias and clay modeling, studio engineering, and complete concept car prototype and fabrication.

ASC's award-winning programs include vehicle development and sub-assembly of the Chevrolet SSR (winner of a "Gold" award in the 2004 IDEA industrial design awards competition sponsored by Business Week); convertible systems for the Toyota Solara and Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder; and numerous appearance programs and body packages for such products as the Dodge SRT-4, Dodge Viper SRT-10 and Pontiac Grand Am SC/T. Founded in 1965 and headquartered in Southgate, Mich., the company employs more than 1,000 car nuts at ten facilities in the U.S. and Germany, and is on the Web.

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