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GM peruses new gadgets at secret show

People examine new technology in the Hitachi booth at the TechWorld 2005 show at the General Motors Technical Center in Warren, Michigan, on Wednesday. PHOTO: AP

Imagine a car that will only start with a scan of its owner's fingerprint. Or a vehicle that heats up instantly, even in the dead of winter.

Auto suppliers are already beyond imagining. This week, they were presenting these future devices -- and more than 200 others -- to General Motors Corp in a top-secret show called TechWorld.

Only six of GM's top suppliers were invited to the three-day event at the automaker's research and development hub near Detroit. The show is only open to GM employees, from chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner to more than 2,000 engineers. The Associated Press was the only media outlet invited to observe the show.

Suppliers showed their latest products as well as future ideas they hope GM will integrate into its vehicles. Some showed products so advanced they hid them in separate rooms, only to be viewed by a handful of executives.

"GM has opened its doors to us, so we're opening our doors to GM," said David Sheffler, manager of North American product planning and development for Yazaki Corp, which makes electronic wiring, instrument panels and other parts. Among the future products Yazaki was showing to GM were connection systems for in-vehicle iPods.

TechWorld, which was first held in 1998, is now held twice a year in the Detroit area and once in Europe. The company plans to start holding shows in Asia soon. Jeff Boyer, executive director of advanced purchasing for GM, said TechWorld helps GM align its product plans with those of its top suppliers.

"We can't possibly fund all the research and development the automotive market would call for," Boyer told AP.

GM has awarded 65 contracts at TechWorld in the last three years, Boyer said. Two more were awarded this week. Of those, about two-thirds are contracts for devices that will go into production and the rest are contracts to further develop technology alongside GM.

GM's relationship with suppliers has been rocky as it seeks to cut its US$85 billion purchasing bill by pressuring suppliers to cut costs. In a survey of 259 suppliers this spring, 85 percent said they had a poor working relationship with GM and 3 percent said they had a good relationship, according to Planning Perspectives Inc.

GM announced a new plan last month to improve that relationship. Under the plan, GM will set cost-cutting targets for individual parts rather than asking its suppliers to meet corporate cost-cutting goals.

But TechWorld represents the positive side of GM's relationship with suppliers. The six companies invited -- Michigan-based Gentex Corp and US Farathane Corp, Ohio-based Timken Co and Japan-based Hitachi Ltd, Sanden International Inc and Yazaki -- are almost all among the 78 suppliers given GM's top supplier award last year. GM rewards suppliers based on the technology, delivery, quality and price they provide.

At Sanden's booth, inventor Jeremy Sanger spoke proudly about his high-tech heater, which can warm a car in 100 seconds. It's mounted on the engine and converts mechanical energy into heat. Sanger has spent more than 10 years developing the heater, and says it could be ready for production by the 2008 model year.
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