NEMPA Hosts Technology Panel At MIT Hitting The Automotive Sweet Spot: Mass vs. Efficiency

WHAT:

What will drivers have to pay for better fuel economy? The New England Motor Press Association and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology will host Hitting the Automotive Sweet Spot: Mass vs. Efficiency--the third in their annual series of panel discussions of leading-edge automotive issues. Chrysler is the presenting sponsor of the event.

US federal regulations for cars and light-duty trucks call for a Corporate Average Fuel Economy standard of 35.5 MPG by 2016 and 54.5 MPG by 2025. Sophisticated chassis engineering and aerodynamics, microprocessor-controlled fueling systems, and electrification are slowly improving the efficiency of America's fleet, but meeting these goals will require substantial reductions in vehicle weight.

Putting cars on a diet means, in part, moving away from steel to materials such as aluminum, carbon fiber and plastics--light and strong, but expensive to buy and use. Weight reduction also affects a vehicle's performance, its active and passive safety envelope, its tailpipe emissions and its reparability. As well, new materials will change the environmental impact of building and recycling cars.

What are the prospects for significant weight savings and fuel efficiency? What are the trade-offs in safety, performance and green-ness? Will the consumer be able to afford such vehicles? Panelists will discuss this "automotive sweet spot" and how the industry is taking this challenge head-on.

WHO:

Panel Speakers

- Dave Leone, Executive Chief Engineer, GM Global Performance Luxury Cars
- Heiko Schmidt, Department Manager, Mercedes-Benz Product Management Compact Cars
- Mike Stanton, President & CEO, Global Automakers
- Anders Tylman-Mikiewicz, General Manager, Volvo Monitoring & Concept Center, US

Bios available at: NEMPA Conference

WHEN:

Thursday, May 9
12:30 PM Lunch
1:30 Program begins

WHERE:

MIT Faculty Club

50 Memorial Drive
Bldg. E52 -- 6th Floor
Cambridge, MA 02139

Directions and Parking Info: MIT Faculty Club

RSVP:

To Lisa Fleming Brock at fleminglisarae@yahoo.com or

215-378-5644

About New England Motor Press Association (NEMPA)
The New England Motor Press Association was founded in 1987 to coordinate professional media coverage of the auto industry in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont, whose 14.5 million citizens have unique demographics and automotive preferences. NEMPA's media members appear on network and cable TV, on the Internet and radio, and in regional and national newspapers and magazines. For more information, please vist: www.nempa.org.

Contact:

Lisa Fleming Brock

215-378-5644