Solutia Automotive Announces Second Use of Advanced Acoustic Interlayer in GM 'QuietTuning' System

Buick LaCrosse is Second GM Vehicle to Use Vanceva(TM) Quiet for Noise Reduction

TROY, Mich., Jan. 6 -- Solutia Automotive (Solutia), leading supplier of polyvinyl butyral (PVB) interlayer products for glass to the automotive industry, announced today that Vanceva(TM) Quiet, its advanced acoustic interlayer, is being used in the Buick LaCrosse, the vehicle set to replace the Regal and Century this fall. Solutia will also supply its Saflex(R) PVB interlayer for the front side windows. This is the second use of Vanceva Quiet in a GM vehicle that incorporates its QuietTuning System. The first vehicle is the Buick Rainier, launched in 2003.

"The demands of the automotive marketplace focus on quality," said Jay Pyper, North American market development manager for Solutia, "and quiet is one of the criteria used to judge quality, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2002 Vehicle Acoustic Study."

Normal laminated glass reduces noise intrusion by about 6 decibels versus tempered glass; Vanceva(TM) Quiet takes it to the next level in providing "quiet luxury" by reducing noise intrusion even further. "Quiet" is optimized by the use of laminated glass in the side windows along with the acoustic windshield. The acoustic windshield and laminated side windows are a feature of Buick's QuietTuning System, a vehicle-wide effort to reduce unwanted road, wind and engine noise and vibration levels.

Laminated glass is formed when a PVB interlayer is sandwiched between two pieces of glass, and subjected to heat and pressure. Standard in windshields for about 60 years, laminated glass is now being used more and more in side windows as well for other benefits inherent to this type of auto glass.

  Other benefits of laminated glass include:

  * Intrusion resistance -- the tough PVB interlayer increases intrusion
    resistance by about 10 times over tempered glass.

  * Protection of passengers and interior materials from UV ray penetration
    -- tests by the Australian Radiation and Nuclear Safety Agency showed a
    90 percent reduction in UV ray penetration with laminated glass versus
    60 percent using ordinary tempered glass, or the equivalent of a 50 SPF
    sunblock.

  * Weight reduction -- Laminated glass weighs 11 percent less than
    comparable tempered glass.

Solutia (BULLETIN BOARD: SOLUQ-OB) uses world-class skills in applied chemistry to create value-added solutions for customers, whose products improve the lives of consumers every day. Solutia is a world leader in performance films, producing Saflex(R) and Vanceva(TM) brand polyvinyl butyral interlayers for laminated glass in automotive, architectural and residential applications. Solutia is also a leader in process development and scale-up services for pharmaceutical fine chemicals; specialties such as water treatment chemicals, heat transfer fluids and aviation hydraulic fluid and an integrated family of nylon products including high-performance polymers and fibers.

Solutia Automotive manufactures interlayers used in laminated automotive glass, and is not a glass producer itself. Information about Solutia Automotive may be found at http://www.solutiaautomotive.com/.