OEM Supplier Faurecia Product Innovations

Everybody is covering the automaker press conferences today here at the show, but I had a chance to drop by and take a look at some unique ideas that supplier Faurecia has come up with to take weight out of a vehicle.

It seems that the "iPod look" is influencing designers all around the world. Faurecia's ultrathin "sustainable comfort seat" sports an iPod like finish on its backside. Also unique to the seat is the fact that it has done away with foam and uses a gel like substance not unlike that in a running shoe. The gel doesn't have the same VOC issues that foam does and the seat is up to 15 percent lighter than conventional seats overall. Faurecia also had some cool lighting effects that highlighted the seat's construction, but could also transfer over to production if a manufacturer wanted to. The seat I sat in was very firm, but the rep said that they already have a 'more American" level of comfort in the product lab.

Faurecia supplies the current smart fortwo's instrument panel, so the next product they showed me "Light Attitude Interior" was no shocker with its fabric covering. The glove box "door" was a fabric covering that rolled up. The centerpiece of the design for me was the integration of an iPod touch into the panel. You install a small app on your iPod and it then can interface with the car. You dock the iPod into slot on the touch of the dash and it becomes the video display for the car. Navigation, temp settings, you name it, they are all displayed on the iPod. It's a slick feature that is pretty futuristic. Will automakers be comfortable allowing a consumer device to be such a central piece of the car's IP? In addition, the panel had diffused air vents that also sported ambient lighting, the lighting changed color from blue to red as you changed the temperature of the car. The center console was also fabric, something that looked a bit odd but could definitely work in something like a smart, Ford Ka, etc. Another feature of the center console was a fabric wing that could reach out and hug a bag or purse, a pretty cool feature.

Overall some interesting technology that could potentially save weight, look cool and not add cost to the manufacturing process.