Lear Corporation's Expertise on Display at NAIAS
8 January 2001
Lear Corporation's Expertise on Display at NAIAS
SOUTHFIELD, Mich., Jan. 8 Lear Corporation
provides content for hundreds of vehicles worldwide, from fully integrated
interiors and electronics to innovative design and manufacturing. Lear's
capabilities are featured on scores of cars and trucks that will be on display
at the 2001 North American International Auto Show at Detroit's Cobo Hall in
January.
Lear's interior expertise can be seen in General Motors Corp.'s new
Chevrolet Express LT and GMC Savana SLT full-size vans. Using Lear's People-
Vehicle-Interface Methodology(TM), Lear and GM conducted consumer research
that identified a niche market opportunity -- upscale families that have
outgrown their sport-utility vehicles.
Lear helped GM drastically reduce development time on the vans and was
designated the interior program manager, which included the design,
engineering and manufacturing of key interior components and exterior
enhancements. Second-stage production of the vans is scheduled for the first
quarter of 2001 at Lear's O'Fallon, Mo., facility outside St. Louis.
Lear was also the interior integrator on DaimlerChrysler AG's new
minivans. Lear managed all the suppliers who provided components for the
interior of the minivans, currently being manufactured at Windsor, Ont., and
St. Louis, Mo., and will also participate in the European launch in Graz,
Austria, during the first quarter of 2001.
Lear's success as an interior integrator also earned it a contract with
Ford Motor Co. for the all-new Ford Thunderbird. In addition to supplying
traditional components like the door panels, floor system and hard trim, Lear
developed a child-seat attachment bar specifically for the sporty, two-seat
roadster. This safety feature -- which is usually installed in rear seats --
allows a child seat to be fixed to a high-strength wire that attaches to the
frame of the car.
Lear's electronics-integration capabilities are evident on GM's redesigned
sport utilities, the Chevrolet TrailBlazer, GMC Envoy and Oldsmobile Bravada.
Lear designed the center console, which is more than a mere storage bin. The
console houses an amplifier for the stereo system and adjustments for the
heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system.
For Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, the Lear Electronics and Electrical
Division developed an electronics package for the X5 sport-utility vehicle
that includes a junction box, lighting control module, vehicle immobilizer,
digital audio amplifier and telephone-interface module.
Lear is also an innovative manufacturer and designer. At BMW, the 3
Series Cabriolet features a new seatbelt system that integrates the belt into
the seat itself rather than the body chassis.
Lear also supplies the ignition switch, column multifunction switch and
exterior keypad, and other components to Ford's line of pickup trucks. Lear
provides the seats for Ford's King Ranch, a special edition F-150 SuperCrew
pickup truck named in honor of the West Texas ranch. The seats are covered
with the same soft, supple leather associated with King Ranch's brand of
leather goods, and match the rest of the interior trim.
Lear supported Audi AG's effort to integrate lightweight aluminum into the
new 1.2-litre A2 sedan to achieve outstanding fuel economy by developing a new
aluminum rear seat frame that is 50 percent lighter than previous seats. Lear
also supplies an inflatable curtain headliner for the A3 sedan.
Along with these new and growing capabilities, Lear remains a leader in
the seating business. The Lincoln Blackwood, the upscale, ultimate sport-
utility vehicle produced by Ford's luxury division, is equipped with newly
designed Lear seats with memory settings and heating and cooling options.
Lear Corporation, a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Southfield,
Mich., USA, focuses on automotive interiors and electronics, and is the
world's fifth-largest automotive supplier. Sales in 1999 were $12.4 billion.
The company's world-class products are designed, engineered and manufactured
by more than 120,000 employees in over 300 facilities located in 33 countries.
Information about Lear and its products is available on the Internet at
http://www.lear.com .