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Side impact collision is one of the toughest safety challenges facing the Auto Industry today. Over thirteen thousand deaths, due to side impact, occurred during 1998 in the United States alone. The main difficulty in designing for side impact collisions is the limited crumple zone between the impacting vehicle and the impacted occupant. This paper presents a proprietary side impact protective door system within the space between the outer skin of a car door and the occupant, which will be as efficient as those already standard in frontal impact. The main objective for introducing the side impact structural system is to maximize energy absorption and minimize injury to the occupant. The developed structural side impact door system acts as a Primary Structure, to be assembled as a truly modular entity. This primary structure is also packaging modular in the sense that it acts as a carrier for the door latch, window regulator and hinges.

Large hood mounted plastic trim components are subjected to complex and often extreme loading conditions. Typical loading conditions include solar and thermal cycling, as well as road and powertrain induced vibrations, aero lift and buffeting, and mechanical loads such as car wash. For the above components understanding and classifying the typical loading conditions is an essential and important step in achieving long term quality. This paper discusses different approaches to the design, analysis, development, and testing of plastic trim components. Samples of analysis and test results are presented to demonstrate how to identify and prevent the loss of the part function. Some useful guidelines and practices for addressing thermal expansion, dimensional variation, and redundancy in attachments are also discussed.

Fundamentals of Integrated Vehicle Realization is a unique and solid contribution to the subject of product development, centered on the automotive industry. Automotive manufacturers and suppliers are under pressure to transform themselves and deliver a higher level of product refinement coupled with more functionality. This could lead to the sprouting of organizational structures not in alignment with the required product development phases. Consequently, many product development initiatives may be cancelled or dropped at later stages despite all the efforts and financial investments. Therefore, it is vital that organizational unity be always intact during any transformation. A highly effective organization should always act as one cohesive entity dedicated to serving the customer with creative aptitude, integrative skills, analytical thinking, and synergistic management. Written by Dr.