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The development of systems and components for control of exterior noise has traditionally been done through an iterative process of on road testing. Frequently, road testing of vehicle modifications are delayed due to ambient environmental changes that prevent testing. Vehicle dynamometers used for powertrain development often had limited space preventing far field measurements. Recently, several European vehicle manufacturers constructed facilities that provided adequate space for simulation of the road test. This paper describes the first implementation of that technology in the U.S.. The facility is typical of those used world wide, but it is important to recognize some of the challenges to effective utilization of the technique to correlate this measurement to on road certification.

Environmental costs are a delayed financial burden that result from product decisions made early in the product life cycle--early material choices may create regulatory and waste management costs that were not factored into the acquisition cost. This paper outlines a step-wise approach to determine decision points; environmental, health, safety and recycling (EHS&R) cost drivers that affect decisions; and sources of information required to conduct a Life Cycle Management (LCM) review. Additionally, how LCM fits into the larger concurrent engineering framework is illustrated with an electrocoat primer example. Upstream and downstream supply chain processes are reviewed, as well as organizational challenges that affect the decision process.

Historically, the long development time required to produce a new automobile has meant that the electronics in that vehicle might lag the state-of-the-art by several years. For traditional vehicle electronics, this was certainly an appropriate delay, ensuring through extensive testing and qualification that the quality and reliability of the electronic systems met rigorous standards. However, with the growing consumer-oriented electronics content in today's vehicles, it is becoming more difficult for the automotive manufacturers to meet consumers' expectations with older technology. Couple this with the fast-paced consumer product cycle, typically nine to eighteen and the result is increasing pressure on the vehicle manufacturers from after-market electronics suppliers, who can update their product lines as fast as the component manufacturers can produce new models.

There is a major problem in maintaining the records of the more than 275 million vehicles presently registered throughout the world. Monitoring the life of a given vehicle from its fabrication to its destruction can best be accomplished by the inner facing of major computer programs and a uniform system for vehicle identification. The Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) is the legal identification of the vehicle. Every manufacturer has the responsibility of assigning a unique VIN to each vehicle, in compliance with numerous procedures, standards and laws. The VIN is attached to the vehicle, stamped and embossed on components, and printed on tamper resistant labels. It is printed on hundreds of documents and maintained in numerous files.

Several factors have influenced the size and design of domestic passenger cars over the past 30 years. Of most significance has been the influx of imported cars, initially from Europe, later from Japan. Interspersed within the fabric of this influx have been two energy crises and several recessions, and the onset of safety, emission, and energy regulations. These factors have led to various responses by domestic manufacturers as indicated by the types of products and vehicle systems that they have introduced during this period. This paper chronicles both the events as well as the responses.

THE 1957 Cadillac frame is a significant step in design progress toward the ever lower passenger cars demanded by customers and, therefore, car manufacturers. Stemming from tests and experimental designs in process since 1950, this frame combines reduction in height with a slight increase in structural efficiency. It reverses the trend toward the more costly and heavier structures usually associated with lower cars. Mr. Milliken discusses in Part I the steps Cadillac has taken in the last 19 years to reduce the height 9½ in. to 55½ in. The “Tubular Cenrer-X” frame of the 1957 Eldorado Brougham was the latest and most successful answer to the problem. In Part II Mr. Parker describes the A. O. Smith Corp.'s development of the basic idea and the experimental phases and testing which led to the production designs.

In recent years, strict weight reduction targets have pushed auto manufacturers to use lighter gauge sheet steels in all areas of the vehicle including exterior body panels. As sheet metal thicknesses are reduced, dentability of body panels becomes of increasing concern. Thus, the goal becomes one of reducing sheet metal thickness while maintaining acceptable dent resistance. Most prior work in this area has focused on quasi-static loading conditions. In this study, both quasi-static and dynamic dent tests are evaluated. Fully assembled doors made from mild, medium strength bake hardenable and non-bake hardenable steels are examined. The quasi-static dent test is run at a test speed of 0.1 m/minute while the dynamic dent test is run at a test speed of 26.8 m/minute. Dynamic dent testing is of interest because it more closely approximates real life denting conditions such as in-plant handling and transit damage, and parking lot damage from car door and shopping cart impact.

Increased concern for improving fuel mileage in today's vehicles has focused attention on powertrain component efficiencies. Currently, no efficiency standards exist for automatic transmissions but, uniform testing procedures do exist. Consequently, vehicle and transmission manufacturers have no basis for comparing transmission-to-transmission performance. In addition, manufacturers have no design targets from which to critique their product. This paper addresses this issue by developing an overall transmission efficiency rating. This rating is based upon average transmission operational torques and speeds, the percent time of operation in each gear for a representative duty cycle, and representative efficiencies at these conditions based on test data obtained from a cross section of current production transmissions.

The Auto/Steel Partnership established the Light Truck Frame Project Group in 1996 with two objectives: (a) to develop materials, design and fabrication knowledge that would enable the frames on North American OEM (original equipment manufacturer) light trucks to be reduced in weight, and (b) to improve corrosion resistance of frames on these vehicles, thereby allowing a reduction in the thickness of the components and a reduction in frame weight. To address the issues relating to corrosion, a subgroup of the Light Truck Frame Project Group was formed. The group comprised representatives from the North American automotive companies, test laboratories, frame manufacturers, and steel producers. As part of a comprehensive test program, the Corrosion Subgroup has completed tests on frame coatings. Using coated panels of a low carbon hot rolled and pickled steel sheet and two types of accelerated cyclic corrosion tests, seven frame coatings were tested for corrosion performance.

In 2020, CARB adopted the low NOX omnibus ruling, which provided revisions to on-road heavy duty engine compliance standards and certification practices. As part of the updates to the regulation, CARB has introduced a new in-use vehicle testing process that broadens the operation modes tested and considers the manufacturer’s intended vehicle application. Compared to the previous method, or the Not-to-Exceed approach, cold start and low ambient temperature provisions were included as part of the updates. The inclusion of low temperature operation requires the OEMs to design a robust engine and aftertreatment package that extends NOX conversion performance. The following work discusses the NOX emissions performance impact in a low temperature ambient environment. The engine and aftertreatment system evaluated was designed to comply with CARB’s low NOX regulations. The cycles tested included the CARB Southern NTE cycle and an FTP-LLC protocol.

An assessment of automobile painting at General Motor's Lake Orion, Michigan, USA assembly facility from a life cycle perspective was conducted. The Orion Facility produces the new Oldsmobile Aurora and Buick Riviera models. Improvements in on-site pollution prevention, energy conservation and regulatory barriers to technology innovation were identified. The environmental implications of auto body substrate material choice were analyzed. A life cycle inventory framework was developed for paint suppliers and other parts of the auto painting life cycle. An Alternative Regulatory System was proposed for the entire U.S. auto industry that will, if implemented, facilitate the integration of environmental management into core business strategies and planning.

Since 1997, General Motors Body Manufacturing Engineering - Die Engineering Services (BME-DES) has been working jointly with our software vendor to develop and implement a parallel version of stamping simulation software for mass production analysis applications. The evolution of this technology and the insight gained through the implementation of DMP/MPP technology as well as performance benchmarks are discussed in this publication.

New methods are required for implementing the proliferation and sophistication of electronic controls and features to meet the customer's quality expectations. Vehicle electronic integration provides a potential solution for reconciling the seemingly contradictory objectives of high quality at reasonable cost. No module can be considered independently with this global approach. OEM subsystem and component suppliers' devices will need to play in concert with the overall vehicle's electrical/electronic strategy. Some new, separately packaged electronic features may eventually be assimilated within the framework of other electronic controllers.

Fastener failure due to hydrogen embrittlement is of significant concern in the automotive industry. These types of failures occur unexpectedly. They may be very costly to the automotive company and fastener supplier, not only monetarily, but also in terms of customer satisfaction and safety. This paper is an overview of a program which one automotive company initiated to minimize hydrogen embrittlement in fasteners. The objectives of the program were two-fold. One was to obtain a better understanding of the hydrogen embrittlement phenomena as it relates to automotive fastener materials and processes. The second and most important objective, was to eliminate hydrogen embrittlement failures in vehicles. Early program efforts concentrated on a review of fastener applications and corrosion protection systems to optimize coated fasteners for hydrogen embrittlement resistance.

Today's world places increased emphasis on society's members to know more, to do more, to see more. Increasingly, information is thrown to the consumer that he/she has to process almost continually, regardless of their surroundings. Due to this heightened need, the customer is becoming increasingly perceptive of their vehicle surroundings, expecting their vehicle to be an extension of their home and/or office, to assist in getting things done in an environment that is as convenient and comfortable as their primary workplace. Similarly, there is also increased emphasis on vehicles to be styled so that they are visually appealing, so that all the parts work as a whole to make the environment as enjoyable as consumers' most pleasant surroundings outside the vehicle.

The bounds of Early Supplier Involvement (ESI) are extended through an integrated global raw material strategy which encompasses regulated substance control, material selection and rationalization, and design for recyclability/separability. A life cycle management (LCM) model is used to evaluate environmental, health, safety and recycling (EHS&R) issues in a systematic business decision framework.

Seats play an important role in determining customer satisfaction and safety. They also represent three to five percent of the overall vehicle cost and weight. Therefore, automotive manufacturers are continuously seeking ways to improve the areas of comfort, safety, reliability, cost and weight within the seat system. The purpose of this paper is to review the development of an automotive front seat constructed of injection molded nylon frames and metal mechanisms. This development program was initiated for the purpose of reducing vehicle weight while increasing the reliability and safety of the front seats. This paper will review the material and process selection decision, a design overview, the performance criteria and the results of tests performed on the injection molded front seats.

Environmental issues continue to emerge as a significant concern of the public today. End-of-pipe controls have proven to be costly solutions and have not addressed the root causes of environmental issues. Pollution prevention programs better address concerns and produce more cost-effective solutions. Additionally, regulations can no longer be addressed in isolation. Industry must view regulatory requirements as other business matters are addressed. The integration of regulatory requirements into the business plan focuses the cost of compliance on appropriate products or processes and exposes formerly hidden costs. For highly outsourced OEM's, supplier participation is critical to the success of any program. The bounds of Early Supplier Involvement (ESI) are extended through an integrated global raw material strategy that encompasses regulated substance control, material selection and rationalization, and design for recyclability/separability.

The key words in the marketplace for off-highway vehicles are durability, performance, and efficiency. A manufacturer of these vehicles recognizes that one way to successfully address these needs is by a well thought through electronics design. With the computer sophistication now being incorporated into off-highway vehicles, engineers must work closely to assure electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) of the entire system. A properly established EMC program extending from concept to final design will support each of a product's specified operations and still function as an integrated whole. This paper describes the process for designing the EMC for an off-highway vehicle.

Modern Passenger Car Motor Oils (PCMOs) are formulated to provide superior wear, oxidation, and deposit control under the most demanding driving conditions. In most PCMOs, zinc dialkyldithiophosphate (ZnDTP) has been the dominant antiwear and antioxidant agent for well over 50 years. Unfortunately, the phosphorus in ZnDTP may partially deactivate the exhaust emission catalyst. To ensure that the catalysts function for at least 120,000 miles, engine manufacturers are exploring phosphorus limitations for upcoming PCMO performance categories. This paper explores the antiwear film formation of low phosphorus engine oils using the Electrical Contact Resistance bench test. A prototype ILSAC GF-4 formulation blended with varying amounts and types of ZnDTP was tested at temperatures typical of operating engines. Secondary ZnDTP was found to produce the best films under the broadest temperature range.