Microsoft is a proud sponsor of the Automotive News Premier Automotive Suppliers Contributions to Excellence (PACE) Awards program. David Graff, Microsoft's industry solutions director, Automotive and Industrial Equipment Vertical (AIE), presented the winners of the 2008 Automotive News PACE Awards. These 12 winners and three Collaborator Awards were judged to be the best of the best in creating innovative products and processes. A group of independent judges selected the winners from a field of 23 finalists. The PACE Award embodies the power of innovation to drive value throughout the supply chain right down to the preferred car brand and the satisfied consumer.  Automotive News and co-sponsors Microsoft, SAP, and the Transportation Research Center Inc. present the winners of the 2008 Automotive News PACE Awards. The awards were presented at the 14th annual PACE Awards ceremony at the Max M. Fisher Music Center in Detroit.
Learn more about the winners, and their winning products and processes.BorgWarner Turbo & Emissions SystemsKirchheimbolanden, Germany, and Auburn Hills, Mich.
For: Turbocharger with R2S Regulated Two-Stage Technology
From the judges' citation: "Available in fixed and variable geometry configurations, BorgWarner's R2S is the result of 30 years of turbo system experience combined with advanced modeling technologies. It solved the performance loss and packaging problems that had precluded the benefits of two-stage systems. R2S is distinguished as a PACE Award winner by the insight that the first stage low-pressure turbo could take on added responsibilities beyond its traditional role of enhancing low-rpm performance. BorgWarner made it possible to use it to improve the emissions performance at high rpm as well as at transitional throttle conditions." Continental AGPisa, Italy, and Auburn Hills, Mich.
For: Piezo Direct Injection System for Gasoline Applications
From the judges' citation: "Continental has, for the first time, applied piezo activation to direct injection in high-revving gasoline engines. Only the fuel necessary is injected and is directed only where combustion actually occurs. The innovation is a needle that is piezo-activated to open into the cylinder, resulting in a hollow cone spray, and the possibility of two injections per cycle due to direct piezo activation. The stratified charge is stable without respect to engine load, an optimal lean-burn circumstance. Additional innovations included a new type of seal, unique welding techniques to suit the metals necessary, and thermal expansion compensation." Cummins Inc.Columbus, Ind.
For: Cummins 6.7-liter Turbo Diesel
From the judges' citation: "The new Cummins Diesel is an inline six-cylinder engine with the greatest low-speed torque and the cleanest and quietest performance in the heavy-duty segment in North America. It incorporates a number of innovations. It is the first application of Cummins' NOx Adsorber technology. The result is the cleanest heavy-duty engine available in North America that functions without urea additive. It also provides the first-ever designed-in, factory-integrated exhaust brake." Delphi Corp./Sirius Satellite RadioKokomo, Ind.
For: Sirius Backseat TV
From the judges' citation: "The 'squeezing' of video signals within Sirius' existing frequency spectrum allocation was accomplished through a bandwidth-efficient modulation innovation known as Backward Compatible Hierarchical Modulation or HM. This allowed an order of hierarchical modulation never seen before. It also enabled working with existing, installed repeaters, requiring only minor changes. The small in-vehicle receiver unit developed by Delphi requires only two small roof antennas, which have little impact on design or visibility." Dow AutomotiveAuburn Hills, Mich.
For: Impaxx
From the judges' citation: "Dow Automotive's new energy-absorbing foam solution, Impaxx, represents a winning innovation, offering manufacturers and suppliers the simultaneous benefits of low cost, reduced weight, reduced packaging space, rapid prototyping, and identical performance between prototype and production parts, while also meeting or exceeding the energy absorption performance of competitive products and regulations. Impaxx can reduce weight by up to 50 percent compared with alternative solutions and reduce packaging space by up to 30 percent, giving greater flexibility in design of interiors and offering the consumer more interior space while safety standards are being met." Eaton Corp.Marshall, Mich.
For: Crutonite
From the judges' citation: "Eaton's Crutonite valve material, developed in partnership with Crucible Specialty Metals, represents a winning innovation offering high-temperature and wear resistance and high strength that is suitable for demanding, high-performance diesel engines as well as future passenger vehicles employing advanced combustion strategies. The new alloy offers similar performance to aerospace superalloys but with significantly less strategic metals, such as nickel." Gentex Corp.Zeeland, Mich.
For: Rear Camera Display Monitor
From the judges' citation: "Gentex continues the quest to improve vehicle rear vision, particularly when backing up. The patented Rear Camera Display (RCD) seamlessly integrates a 2.4-inch liquid crystal display (LCD) into the center rearview mirror. When the vehicle is put in reverse, the RCD displays a rear camera image in an intuitive location within the regular rearview mirror image space. When turned off, the camera display disappears, and its 'territory' becomes part of the normal mirror image." Magneti Marelli Sistemas Automotivos Industria & Comercio Ltda.Hortolandia, Brazil
For: Tetrafuel
From the judges' citation: "Magneti Marelli's innovation, Tetrafuel, reflects its ability to use any combination of pure gasoline, flex fuel, pure ethanol, or CNG/GNV—compressed natural gas. This is a system composed of two separate sets of injectors and a single ECU capable of transparent switching dynamically between types automatically. A second innovation is the Sigma digital knock sensor, which inexpensively provides optimized ignition timing at each cylinder regardless of fuel type in use or the proportions." PPG Industries Inc.Troy, Mich.
For: Green Logic
From the judges' citation: "Green Logic is PPG's name for an environmentally friendly paint detackifier that replaces formaldehyde and acrylic compounds with a polysaccharide derived from chitin—the constituent of shellfish shells. Chitin (shellfish waste) is converted to chitosan, which performs the tasks previously done by the acrylic acids and melamine-formaldehyde polymers. Green Logic performs more effectively than petroleum detackifiers, resulting in lower maintenance costs, reduced wastewater treatment costs, and greatly reduced yearly water replenishment costs. Green Logic requires no significant changes in existing process equipment. Green Logic avoids non-renewable petroleum stocks, conserves water, and reduces the volume of harmful sludge that must be disposed of in landfills." Valeo Interior ControlsBietigheim, Germany, and Troy, Mich.
For: Park 4U Semi-Automatic Parallel Parking
From the judges' citation: "Valeo was able to develop Park 4U as an inexpensive, easy to use, effective automated parking system that leverages technologies already in many vehicles. Adding additional sensors to an existing front and rear ultrasonic parking assist system, Valeo was able to make precise direct measurement of the parking slot between the bumpers of already-parked cars and the curb. The trajectory to park the car is calculated by the electronic control unit, which then controls the parking maneuver until parking is completed. This is the first time a production vehicle detects its environment and autonomously steers around obstacles into a target space based on what it detects." Webasto AGStockdorf, Germany
For: Low Pressure Injection-Compression Process for Panoramic Polycarbonate Roof Module
From the judges' citation: "Webasto took up the challenge of producing a 1.2-square-meter optical-quality polycarbonate roof for the 2008 Smart ForTwo coupe. Webasto innovated an advanced low-pressure injection/compression process involving both angled and parallel plates, in an injection-molding press requiring only one-fourth the clamping force of a conventional process. This resulted in a much smaller press with greatly reduced footprint and operating costs but greater precision and low internal stresses. The company also innovated an inline, all-clean-room process with no interruptions for handling, trimming, or storing parts, with molding and coating inline (and) a coating process combining both spray and flow coating." Xanavi Informatics Corp./Sony Corp.Zama, Japan
For: Around View Monitor
From the judges' citation: "The innovation uses four very wide-angle cameras developed by Sony. The camera-gathered information is very dense and required Xanavi to develop very fast and effective signal processing and correction in order to put an image combining the views of the four cameras into a recognizable moving picture on the screen in real enough time. The Around View Monitor shows in split screen a 360-degree view of space around the vehicle and, when the vehicle is in reverse, a rearward view indicating directional path. When the vehicle proceeds forward, the driver can select a 360-degree view and a forward view with directional path. Both images are displayed side by side, so the driver can see walls, obstacles, or humans anywhere around the vehicle as he proceeds." Collaborator Award WinnersHonda Motor Co.Collaborating with: Takata Corp.
For: Motorcycle Airbag
From the judges' citation: "Honda wanted to take motorcycle safety a step further. In 1990 it began to research airbag applications. By 1996, Honda had partnered with Takata to begin full-scale research of a possible motorcycle airbag system. The two companies had to understand the dynamics of injuries caused by crashes—including such scenarios as impact with other vehicles and objects, protecting out-of-position riders, strength of the airbag cushion, placement of the airbag system, environmental issues, as well as packaging—to offer a design that is satisfactory to the motorcycle enthusiast. The product of joint analysis and development made its appearance on the 2006 Honda Gold Wing touring motorcycle with the industry's first and currently only motorcycle airbag." Chrysler LLCCollaborating with: Mahle
For: CamInCam Variable Valve Timing Camshaft
From the judges' citation: "In 2004, Chrysler's Street and Racing Technology (SRT) team faced a challenge with the Dodge Viper. Like many big, high-performance engines, this one displayed combustion instability at light loads due to aggressive valve timing for high-speed power and did not meet Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards. Mahle engineers, already involved with the SRT team, saw that independent rotation up to 40 degrees between intake and exhaust cams was possible using assembled camshaft know-how. The Dodge Viper V-10 engine now has 60 percent better combustion stability, full-range OBDII misfire detection, part-load fuel economy improved 14 percent, increased exhaust gas recirculation, and 18 percent higher peak power. Working together, Mahle, INA, and Chrysler accomplished what had not been done in the century since the first Cam-In-Cam patent in 1908: independent timing of exhaust and intake valves in one camshaft." Nissan Motor Co.Collaborating with: Sony Corp. and Xanavi Informatics Corp.
For: Around View Monitor
From the judges' citation: "The Around View Monitor that debuted in America in the 2008 Infiniti EX was created by the cooperative combination of technologies from Nissan, Xanavi, and Sony. The initial work on the system dates back to 2005, with the development of an ultrawide-angle, high-resolution, 1.3-megapixel camera by Sony and 'bird's-eye view' image map-processing technology originated by Xanavi. Three years of collaboration between Sony, Xanavi, and Nissan has culminated in the Around View Monitor in today's Infiniti EX and two minivans. The collaboration resulted in an innovation that brings enhanced safety and convenience to the way drivers interact with their immediate surroundings."
| |
