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SAE 2000 World Congress Sets New Attendance Record

15 March 2000

SAE 2000 World Congress Sets New Attendance Record

    WARRENDALE, Pa., March 15 A record 49, 249 participants
poured into the Cobo Center in Detroit, Michigan from March 6-9, 2000 for the
Society of Automotive Engineer's (SAE) World Congress 2000.
    The attendance figure eclipsed the previous record of 49,086, set in 1994.
The show is the largest automotive technology event in the world, drawing
participants from more than 80 countries throughout the world.
    For 2001, General Motors has agreed to be the host company,
with Arvin F. Mueller, Vice President and Group Executive, GM Powertrain
Group, serving as general chairperson.  SAE 2001 World Congress will be held
March 5-8, 2001 in Cobo Center, Detroit, Michigan.
    "We put a tremendous effort into adding new features to this year's World
Congress," said Dave Amati, SAE Group Director, "and it resulted in a six
percent increase in attendance over last year's event."
    In 1999, SAE World Congress drew 46,309 attendees.  One of the factors
driving the attendance boost was moving the registration area into the Cobo
Arena, which opened up an additional 10,000 square feet of exhibit space.  The
new Automotive Computer Technology Showcase, 21 hardware and software
companies that are developing cyberware for the automotive industry occupied
this area.
    The Automotive Computer Technology Showcase was only a part of the more
than 1,300 exhibits, up approximately 100 from 1999, that covered 346,570
square feet of the show floor.  The show filled Cobo Center to capacity for
the seventh straight year.
    A new feature in 2000 was the addition of the SAE Driving Experience, an
event staged at the Pontiac Silverdome that allowed Congress participants to
experience the technical innovations that they had seen on the Cobo show
floor.
    Another record set was the nearly 1,300 technical papers presented during
the four-day event, which included topics ranging from airbags to advanced
automotive electronics.  In addition, SAE conducted a number of panels with
experts participating from such areas as 42-volt battery technology,
automotive design, intelligent vehicles, service technician training and many
more.
    The standing-room-only Blue Ribbon Panel pitted automotive designers
against designers from the arts and culture in a freewheeling discussion of
how to make automotive design more appealing to the customers.
    BMW A.G. was host company for the SAE 2000 World Congress.  Dr. Wolfgang
Ziebart was the general chairperson.
    The SAE World Congress is the world's largest and most significant
technical event for the automotive industry and offers something for all
professionals involved in automotive technology.