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SMC Selected for Decklid on Ford Mustang

12 April 1999

SMC Selected for Decklid on Ford Mustang Because of Reduced Tooling Cost and Design Flexibility

    DETROIT, April 12 -- The following was released by the
Automotive Composites Alliance:

    Art Hyde, chief program engineer -- Ford Mustang, says SMC (sheet molding
composite) was chosen for the decklid on the 1999 Ford Mustang because the
composite provides reduced tooling cost compared to steel and allows for
additional design flexibility.  The comments were made during a press
conference co-sponsored by the Automotive Composites Alliance (ACA) and the
Society of Plastic Engineers (SPE) Detroit section.
    The new SMC decklid joins the hood, spoiler and rear quarter scoops as
second-generation SMC components that debuted on the 1994 Ford Mustang.
    "We've continued the proliferation of SMC on the Mustang because it
provides a host of benefits for these exterior panels," says Hyde.  "The lower
tooling cost and enhanced design flexibility of SMC helped us engineer a
market-leading vehicle."
    Hyde adds that the composite's inherent corrosion and dent and ding
resistance is superior to that of a steel decklid of equal weight.  "The SMC
panels are durable," he says.  "SMC's coefficient of thermal expansion (the
rate at which the composite expands and contracts) is the same as steel, which
creates tight tolerances between the decklid and its surrounding
architecture."
    The Automotive Composites Alliance (ACA -- formerly the SMC Automotive
Alliance), established in 1998, is a trade association of 26 molders and raw
materials and tool suppliers that provide the automotive industry with
reinforced thermoset composite exterior panels, interior trim and engine and
structural components.  The ACA is headquartered in Troy, Mich., and is
structured as a business unit of the Composite Fabricators Association located
in Arlington, Va.