Car suppliers create luxury for less

DETROIT -- Auto suppliers, already grappling with production cuts and rising raw material prices, now are being asked to make auto interiors look more luxurious for less money.

Like other suppliers, Lear Corp. and Visteon Corp. spend millions every year on consumer panels and other research. Tests include whether consumers can smell the difference between real leather and substitutes, whether a car door being slammed sounds sturdy, and whether seats in a $20,000 compact car feel like those in a $50,000 luxury sedan.

To satisfy car shoppers, automakers push their suppliers to make interiors look and feel better -- without increasing the cost to the automaker.

"The fact of the matter is, we have a conflict," said Dave Rand, General Motors Corp.'s executive director of interior styling for North America. On one hand, manufacturers are trying to improve the look and feel of interiors, but "at the same time we're all on a budget."

Kryston Mille, 46, prefers third-row seating that has contoured areas for each passenger, instead of just one flat surface.

Mille was part of a consumer panel this summer that Lear sponsored at Rock Financial Showplace in Milford, Mich. The supplier had 10 minivans, crossovers, and SUVs from different automakers parked in an exhibit room where survey respondents practiced real-life activities, such as loading groceries and folding down seats to create room for large boxes.

Visteon uses different manufacturing processes to save money. The supplier uses a simultaneous-shot injection molding process to achieve a two-tone appearance for mold-in-color instrument panels -- like the one on the Mustang -- replacing the traditional method of masking and painting instrument panels.

The process reduces tooling costs, cycle time, and scrap materials, and has the added benefit of giving automakers more styling options.

Lear has a team to develop cost-efficient substitutes for expensive materials. Its "leatherette," for example, has premium polyurethane coatings that feel like premium leather. Leatherette is used on the Cadillac CTS and BMW 3 series.

On the 2006 Chevrolet Impala, Ford Five Hundred, and Audi TT, Lear uses alternative foam materials in its seats. The material costs 10 percent to 20 percent less because less assembly and tooling are needed. To passengers, the seats feel better because they are better molded to the curves of the body.

"Good craftsmanship doesn't have to cost more money," said Mara Ignatius, Lear's manager of harmony and craftsmanship.