Borg-Warner Automotive Groups Supply New Jeep Grand Cherokee
27 October 1998
Borg-Warner Automotive Groups Supply New Jeep Grand Cherokee(R)
CHICAGO, Oct. 26 -- Borg-Warner Automotive, Inc. ,
a leader in powertrain technology for 70 years, put the collective
technological expertise of its four business groups to work for Chrysler
Corporation in the design and development of the 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee,
including its 45 RFE transmission and 4.7-liter V-8 engine. The all-new,
electronically controlled multispeed transmission is the most refined in Jeep
history with transmission ratios ideally matched to the 4.7-liter V-8 engine,
providing superior performance and improved fuel efficiency.
Total BWA content on the vehicle is about $240 -- a significant increase
in the content Borg-Warner Automotive has previously supplied to Chrysler
rear-wheel-drive vehicles. Borg-Warner Automotive's Automatic Transmission
Systems business supplies automatic transmission components, friction
materials and one-way clutches for the 45 RFE. The company's Air/Fluid
Systems business provides the transmission control module. BWA's Morse TEC
business supplies the timing system for the 4.7-liter V-8 engine and drive
chain for the four-wheel-drive Grand Cherokee, and BWA's Air/Fluid Systems
provides the engine throttle bodies.
"We are proud to have combined the expertise of several of our business
groups to provide Chrysler with such successful results," said John F.
Fiedler, chairman and CEO, Borg-Warner Automotive. "The 45 RFE and new engine
will go a long way toward enhanced vehicle performance and customer
satisfaction, and improved emission levels. Chrysler has taken a major step
forward with the new Grand Cherokee and it has met with remarkable success."
Fiedler noted that the involvement of two of the four Borg-Warner
Automotive business groups on the 45 RFE is an example of the company's
increased focus on cross-business opportunities.
"I am taking personal responsibility for overseeing cross-business
opportunities as we identify and pursue them," said Fiedler. "This approach
is integral to our growth strategy. The 45 RFE is one example of the
tremendous potential for us in this area."
The name 45 RFE means it is a four-speed, medium-duty electronic
transmission for rear-wheel-drive vehicles with two-wheel- and
four-wheel-drive applications. It will be manufactured an hour north of
Indianapolis at the new, $1.1 billion Indiana Transmission Plant, the largest
investment Chrysler has ever made in powertrain technology. The Grand
Cherokee is the first of seven different Chrysler vehicles that will have the
transmission, expected to reach 800,000 units by 2001.
Chicago-based Borg-Warner Automotive, Inc. is a product leader in highly
engineered components and systems primarily for automotive drivetrain
applications. The company operates manufacturing and technical support
facilities in 12 countries serving the North American, European and Asian
automotive markets.
Statements contained in this news release may contain forward-looking
statements as contemplated by the 1995 Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act that are based on management's current expectations, estimates and
projections. Words such as "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans,"
"believes," "estimates," variations of such words and similar expressions are
intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking
statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual
results to differ materially from those projected or implied in the
forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include:
fluctuations in domestic or foreign automotive production, the continued use
of outside suppliers by original equipment manufacturers, fluctuations in
demand for vehicles containing the Company's products, general economic
conditions, as well as other risks detailed in the Company's filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Cautionary Statements filed
as Exhibit 99.1 to the Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 1997.
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