Faurecia Offers Consumers 'A Touch More' Technology and Fashion with Innovations at the 2011 LA Auto Show

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Faurecia is offering "a touch more" in technique, technology and fashion that will change the consumer driving experience. The world's sixth largest automotive supplier will showcase these new concepts at the 2011 LA Auto Show during press days, Nov. 16-17.

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Just as fashion designers transfer touches of haute couture to their ready-to-wear lines, Faurecia brings premium touches to standard vehicles. No longer does the seat just sit there; it moves with you. Instrument clusters are replaced with "Infoskins." Switches and buttons double as highly decorative pieces. Compact exhaust systems fit precisely under electric-gas hybrids and integrate into the vehicle's design. Front ends further protect pedestrians through a system that absorbs energy.  

Media will be able to touch more innovations than ever at Faurecia's exhibit in the South Hall, Upper Level Lobby, including some of the industry's brightest technology from Faurecia Automotive Seating, Interior Systems, Emissions Control Technologies and Automotive Exteriors.

Featuring innovations designed to bring the consumer a touch more in comfort, safety, flexibility and capability, the Faurecia exhibit includes:

• Interior Systems "Pret-a-Porter" Demonstrator – The demonstrator offers new ways to add more luxury and sophistication to standard vehicles by applying fashionable touches usually found in upscale interiors, like high-end skins and trim and decorations that serve a functional purpose. All surfaces receive the haute couture treatment.

• Embedded Human-Machine Interface – The driver interface of the Pret-a-Porter Demonstrator is equipped with an innovative "Infoskin" that replaces the instrument cluster with an interactive decorated surface with backlighting.

• Collections by Faurecia – An array of materials, finishes, styles, decorations and technologies available for interiors, "Collections by Faurecia" displays 15 technologies, 250 color and graphic design creations, and 4,000 individual pieces in a mosaic of parts designed to highlight five design trends for 2012.

• Performance Seat – The high-tech Performance Seat is 30 percent thinner than conventional seats and weighs 20 percent less. It features the industry's first "compliant shell" that conforms to the varying posture, body size and body types of drivers and passengers by changing as the occupant moves..

• GPSFit – An app for Faurecia's groundbreaking SmartFit™ seat that uses a smartphone to adjust perfectly for each occupant, GPSFit pulls data from the vehicle's GPS to readjust the seat's position in advance of changing road or driving conditions.

• Exhaust system for range-extender hybrids – A weight-saving compact exhaust system is designed to fit into a relatively small envelope of space, providing typical noise-vibration-harshness control and supplementing passenger compartment heating.  

• Pedestrian-safety system – A Faurecia-created pedestrian-protection design, which was among those receiving the top rating in Europe. It incorporates a polypropylene plastic beam behind the fascia that has been designed to absorb energy.

"At the LA Auto Show, Faurecia will be introducing game-changing systems inside, outside and under the new generation of vehicles, as Faurecia technology and fashion shape our industry's future," said Faurecia North America President Mike Heneka. "These innovations reflect the design and technology of vehicles that will be touching the road in the years ahead."

Faurecia's innovations are also expected to be a trending topic at Design Los Angeles, an annual automotive designers conference held at the LA Auto Show on Nov. 17.

About Faurecia North America

Faurecia North America had sales of $3.4 billion in 2010. The Group has 33 production sites in the U.S., Canada and Mexico and employs more than 15,000 people in the region. It has five technical and development centers, situated in Auburn Hills (2), Holland and Troy, Mich., and in Columbus, Ind., as well as a customer center in Toledo, Ohio.

For the latest updates on Faurecia activities throughout North America, connect with the company at www.facebook.com/faureciaNA and www.twitter.com/faurecia_NA.

Visit us also at: www.FaureciaLAAutoShow.com

About Faurecia

Faurecia (www.faurecia.com) is the world's sixth-largest automotive supplier with four key Business Groups: Automotive Seating, Emissions Control Technologies, Interior Systems and Automotive Exteriors. In 2010, the Group posted total sales of $18.22 billion. The company is headquartered in Nanterre, France, with its North American headquarters in Auburn Hills, Mich. It employs 75,000 people in 33 countries at 238 sites and 38 R&D centers. Faurecia is listed on the NYSE Euronext Paris Stock Exchange (EuronextParis:EO).

Contacts

US/Canada  
Stacie Tong  
Faurecia North America  
Director, Communications  
+1 248 484 3185  
[email protected]

Jenn Korail  
Airfoil Public Relations  
+1 248 304 1429  
[email protected]

Mexico  
Ivan Moreno  
Alterpraxis  
+52 (55) 5985 7820 ext. 23  
[email protected]

International  
Olivier Le Friec  
Faurecia Group Communications  
Manager, Media Relations  
+33 6 76 87 30 17  
[email protected]

SOURCE Faurecia