Press Release
Faurecia Light Attitude
at the L.A. Auto Show
November 19-20, 2008
Press Release
L.A., November 19, 2008
Faurecia “Light Attitude” introduces breakthrough
concepts for reducing vehicle weight
New materials and clever designs provide a look into the future – inside, outside and under the car
LOS ANGELES, CALIF., November 19, 2008 – Faurecia’s Happy Attitude changed the meaning of
flexibility. Premium Attitude changed the perception of design innovation. Now, Light Attitude is changing
the speed of light.
Debuting November 19-20 at the L.A. Auto Show, Faurecia’s Light Attitude unveils 10 incremental,
breakthrough and game-changing innovations that can significantly reduce the weight of tomorrow’s
cars and trucks, thereby improving fuel economy and reducing emissions of carbon dioxide and nitrogen
oxides. Altogether they can remove as much as 30 kg (or 66 pounds) from a vehicle’s weight.
Light Attitude is the next generation of Faurecia’s lightweight portfolio of products, which already are
enabling weight reduction of more than 20 kg for many vehicles in development.
The Light Attitude concepts that Faurecia will demonstrate for media and automakers can help speed
the light-weighting process that the auto industry is urgently pursuing. As a global leader in the production
of seats, cockpits, doors, acoustic packages, exhaust systems and front-end modules, Faurecia is
positioned to assume a leadership role in developing the revolutionary concepts required to make the
industry’s vehicles lighter and more environmentally sound.
“Faurecia’s products today represent 15 to 20 percent of a vehicle’s total weight,” notes Faurecia Vice
President of Product Planning Philippe Aumont. “At Faurecia, we recognize that we have both important
responsibilities and important contributions to make to the reduction of vehicle weight and emissions.
We are able to manage light-weighting from design to manufacturing, from components to modules, from
raw materials to architecture, with a full range of technical solutions.”
Faurecia North America Vice President of Marketing and Design Rob Huber points out that weight savings
offer benefits to both vehicle manufacturers and consumers. “The key challenge in today’s automotive
industry,” he says, “is to reduce weight but also maintain cost competitiveness and not compromise on
safety or comfort for the consumer. Because of regulations, fuel prices and environmental initiatives,
weight bears a significant price in the production and purchase of the automobile.”
Previously, lighter weight was “nice to have,” Huber says, after other performance characteristics were
evaluated. Now, however, weight is a core issue for automakers and consumers because it directly
impacts mileage and, therefore, emissions.
Automotive companies are following a path blazed by the aircraft industry which has always worked
toward reducing weight through the introduction of new metals, carbon fibers and more efficient
engines, while seeking to improve acoustic levels inside and outside the plane. Just as the Boeing 787
Dreamliner and the Airbus A350 are designed to be lighter, yet more comfortable, Faurecia’s Light Attitude
demonstrates light-weighting techniques that can help keep tomorrow’s motorists both safe and happy.
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Press Release
Faurecia Light Attitude is a collection of exhibits that demonstrate how innovative thinking can address the
issue of weight reduction. The program presents weight improvements in five major vehicle systems:
Light Attitude Interiors
The Light Attitude interiors concept features several applications never seen before. For example, fabrics
replace many of the conventional hard-surface structures – even the center console is made of fabric.
The glovebox lid becomes a sliding fabric cover and ventilation diffuses air through fabric rather than
traditional hard vents. A door module partially trimmed with natural fibers serves as an acoustic chamber,
allowing installation of smaller, lightweight speakers. A smart integrated docking station offers both weight
reduction and new flexibility for incorporating
ever-evolving media players. Light Attitude
interiors are up to 15 to 20 percent lighter
than conventional interior systems overall.
Light Attitude Seating — Sustainable
Comfort Seat
Plastic seats with ultrathin backrests and
thin, high-performance seat cushions
reflecting sports-shoe technology offer
comfort, safety, lower weight, recyclability,
spaciousness and a new level of design
freedom in the interior cabin. Injection-molded headrests and advanced seat tracks shrink weight and
add safety features. Light Attitude seats are up to 15 percent lighter than conventional seats overall.
Light Attitude Acoustic Package
Faurecia displays a three-layer insulator, to be installed between engine and vehicle body, that uses
foam on either side of a thin airtight center layer. This replaces the conventional two-layer insulator that
includes a thick heavy layer composed of chalk and plastics and reduces the weight of the insulator by
25 to 30 percent.
Light Attitude Front-End Carrier
A new building-block modular frame concept includes aluminum honeycomb crush boxes as well as
plastic or foam energy absorbers. These replace some steel components and make the front-end module
carrier 20 to 30 percent lighter than metal-based solutions. It also allows automakers to reduce the front
overhang of the vehicle, thus gaining extra space.
Light Attitude Exhaust System
By making an E-segment exhaust tubing and muffler shells thinner, Faurecia’s concept system eliminates
as much as 25 to 30 percent of the exhaust system weight overall. Moreover, Faurecia offers fabricated
high-temperature manifolds which can provide a weight saving of 40% compared to a cast manifold, while
improving emissions 10 to 20 percent.
Faurecia Light Attitude will be on display in the South Hall of the Los Angeles Convention Center,
November 19-20. You are invited to view Light Attitude and hear “the skinny” on the auto industry’s
lightweight future during a news conference at 1:50 p.m. on November 20.
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Press Release
Note to the editor
The most imperative issues impacting the auto industry today – from the shifting global market place to
the threats of global warming, from volatile fuel prices to evolving regulatory initiatives – all turn in one
direction in search of resolution: reducing vehicle weight.
If the auto industry is to significantly cut back carbon dioxide and other emissions that contribute to
unwelcome environmental change, and if future vehicles are to be efficiently powered by alternative
energy sources, our passenger vehicles must be lighter than they are today.
Over the lifecycle of a vehicle – extraction of raw materials to production to usage to disposal – 80 percent
of a vehicle’s contribution to pollution occurs in the usage phase. So, by driving down mass and volume,
we can favorably impact emissions, creating lighter vehicles that burn less fuel.
Faurecia is at the cutting edge of this quest for lightweight, working every day with automakers on
solutions that can lead the industry to a lighter and brighter future.
About Faurecia
Faurecia is a world-leading automotive supplier specializing in four major activities: seats, vehicle
interiors, front ends and exhaust systems. In 2007 the Group posted sales of 12.7 billion euros. It
operates in 28 countries and employs 60,000 people at 190 sites and 28 R&D centers. Faurecia is
listed on the NYSE Euronext Paris stock exchange. For more information visit www.faurecia.com
Contact information
North America press office
Stacie Tong
Tel: (248) 409-3935
Mobile: (248) 207-8842
[email protected]
Airfoil Public Relations
Jenn Korail
Tel: (248) 304-1429
Mobile: (586) 202-4392
[email protected]
Group press office
Olivier Le Friec
Tel: + 33 (0)1 72 36 72 58
Mobile: +33 (0)6 76 87 30 17
[email protected]
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