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Since 1985, the Body Division of the Automotive Corrosion and Prevention Committee of SAE (ACAP) has conducted biannual surveys of automotive body corrosion in the Detroit area. The purpose of these surveys is to track industry wide corrosion protection improvements and to make this information available for public consumption. The survey consists of a closed car parking lot survey checking for perforations, blisters, and surface rust. This paper reports the results of the five surveys conducted to date.

An extensive investigation was conducted to assess the influence of steel sheet surface finish (i.e. topography or “texture”) on painted surface appearance. Ten sets of steel panels representing a variety of shot blast, EDT, laser, and bright surface textures were painted simultaneously using advanced solvent-based luxury vehicle paint systems. Paint appearance was measured using a relatively new Autospect instrument and also in terms of conventional Distinctness of Reflected Image (DOI). The results are discussed in detail with respect to 1) the influence of different steel surface textures on paint appearance, 2) the evolution of surface topography during painting, and 3) the implications of this work.

The increased use of a wide variety of recently developed engineered materials and associated processes, for producing vehicular components, has posed a significant challenge to those charged with the responsibility of knowing, developing and/or applying inspection and testing technology to support the quality assurance of these materials, processes and resulting products. This challenge can be more easily and effectively met, within the constraints of time, expertise and other available resources, if computerized knowledge-based systems are employed to enhance the identification, acquisition and application of advanced inspection technology. This paper provides an overview of developments underway to implement this approach in an automotive environment.

Product Engineering, Component Supply and Vehicle Assembly are the main forces that transform ideas, customer research and technical information into products. Quality professionals, and others, have advanced many concept models about improved Product and Process Development based upon the application of new tools and systems to Engineering, Procurement/ Supply and Manufacturing/Assembly relationships. Regardless of the concept model, the problem of effecting operating change in U.S. automotive business practices has both behavioral and technical implications. While many studies have emphasized the application of quality tools and systems as a means to improve Product/Process development, they often overlook the cultural change that is necessary to transition from a 75-year history of strong vertical organizations to the “Networking” implicit with new concept models. The availability of improved tools and systems alone will not insure behavioral change.

The scope of Finite Element Analysis in the Product Development Cycle is given. A brief review of the development process is given. A brief description of the analysis method is presented. A description of how it works, how is it implemented, and where do I use it are included. The entire range of questions are answered through, how do I train for it, how do I manage it, along with what are the limitations and what are the benefits of this analysis method.