SAE Forum to Address the Challenges and Opportunities Facing the North American Automotive Powertrain Market

DETROIT, Jan. 6, 2005 -- A unique forum hosted by SAE International will bring together high-level, management, business, and technology leaders from around the world to discuss and address the challenges that will face the North American automotive powertrain market through the next decade. The "North American International Powertrain Conference: The Next Decade" will be held September 7-9, 2005 in Toronto, Canada, and is intended to complement current national and international meetings and conferences that are tactical in nature.

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A framework from which a premier event can flourish has been established and includes a Powertrain Executive Leadership Team of founding members that includes the senior powertrain executives from Ford, General Motors, Toyota, DaimlerChrysler, AVL, FEV, Ricardo, Bosch, Denso and Delphi. An International Advisory Council including additional OEM and premier powertrain suppliers will provide advice, guidance and participation. This forum will bring international high-level management, business and technology leaders together in a highly interactive environment with socialization and networking opportunities as a hallmark. SAE International will serve as the overarching organization providing the framework for the forum.

The forum structure will be one of executive management level panel discussions, highlighted by keynote presentations, special recognitions and interactive events. A product technology and capability display will support the interactions. Content will revolve around key issues such as North American market and customer dynamics, key future technologies, technology roadmaps for powertrain, government legislation, new engineering partnerships and collaborations, global influence on North American product, emissions, cost implications, energy sources and supply, product development processes, marketing realities and other important issues and will provide fodder for valuable presentations, discussions and interactions that will help to identify and solve the powertrain challenges facing North America today and to energize the human capital needed to gain a view of the future.

Leadership for the inaugural event in 2005 will be provided by Dave Szczupak, Vice President Powertrain Operations, Ford Motor Co. Tom Stephens, Group Vice President, GM Powertrain, General Motors Corp. will lead the forum in 2006 and Bob Lee, Vice President, Powertrain Product Engineering, DaimlerChrysler will provide leadership in 2007.

Strategy and direction for the forum is being provided by an Executive Leadership Team. Founding and working members include:

   - David Baxter, VP Regulatory Affairs & Technical Management, Toyota
     Technical Center, U.S.A., Inc.
   - Jean J. Botti, Business Line Executive Powertrain, Executive Director
     Fuel Cells, Delphi Corporation
   - Raymond Corbin, President, AVL Powertrain Engineering, Inc.
   - Graham Hoare, Director, Powertrain Research & Advanced Engineering,
     Ford Motor Co.
   - Jeremy W. Holt, President, Ricardo, Inc., Executive Director,
     Ricardo PLC
   - Sujit Jain, Senior Vice President, Powertrain, Gasoline and
     Transmission Systems, Robert Bosch Corporation
   - BobLee, Vice President, Powertrain Product Engineering, DaimlerChrysler
     Corporation
   - Douglas Patton, Sr, VP, Marketing & Engineering Division-Engineering
     Group, DENSO International America, Inc.
   - Gary Rogers, President & CEO, North American Technical Center, FEV
     Engine Technology Inc.
   - J. Gary Smyth, Director, GM R&D Powertrain Systems Research, General
     Motors Corporation
   - David L. Amati, Director, Global Automotive Business & Automotive
     Headquarters, SAE International

For more information about this event, contact David L. Amati at 724-772-7180 or e-mail davea@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.