Automotive News - February 25, 2008 - (Page 16)

16 • FEBRUARY 25, 2008 ADVERTISING STAFF Continental’s Helmut Matschi: Trends in drivervehicle interaction include the use of speech and, possibly, gesture recognition. Circulation 313-446-0450 Advertising 313-446-6790 Classified Advertising 313-446-6065, 800-388-1800 E-mail lschlagheck@crain.com Web site www.autonews.com ADVERTISING AND SALES DETROIT 1155 Gratiot Ave., Detroit, MI 48207-2997 313-446-6790 Fax: 313-446-8030 Larry Schlagheck, Advertising Director lschlagheck@crain.com, 313-446-6790 Rick Greer, rgreer@crain.com 313-446-6050 Kathleen C. Lightbody, klightbody@crain.com, 313-446-6037 Russ Procassini, rprocassini@crain.com 313-446-0350 Karen Rentschler, krentschler@crain.com 313-446-6058 Jerry Salame, jsalame@crain.com 313-446-0481 Regional Sales Managers Bryan Foster, Marketing Director bfoster@crain.com, 313-446-6013 Ellen Dennehy Director of Relationship Marketing edennehy@crain.com, 313-446-6039 Cheryl Rothe, Marketing Manager crothe@crain.com, 313-446-6767 Lance Graves, Promotion Art Director lgraves@crain.com, 313-446-0469 Brandi Johnson, Marketing Coordinator bnjohnson@crain.com, 313-446-0326 Marie Hingst Classified Advertising Manager mhingst@crain.com, 313-446-6065 Dolores Lanivich, Denise Hendricks Classified Advertising Sales LOS ANGELES Justus Breese jbreese@crain.com, 323-370-2446 Pacific Region Sales Manager Lauren Ford, lford@crain.com 323-370-2447 Todd Landau, tlandau@crain.com 323-370-2466 Regional Sales Managers 6500 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90048-4947 Fax: 323-655-8157 NEW YORK Scott Ghedine sghedine@crain.com, 212-210-0126 Henry Woodhouse hwoodhouse@crain.com, 212-210-0125 Regional Sales Managers 711 Third Ave., New York, NY 10017-4036 Fax: 212-210-0489 CHICAGO Jim Farnan, Regional Sales Manager jfarnan@crain.com, 312-649-5257 360 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60601-3806 Fax: 312-649-5265 COURTESY OF JIM RUST/THE RECORD-ARGUS, GREENVILLE, PA. ■ 25 with Chevrolet Frank DeAnda of Love Chevrolet in Seaside, Calif., receives a 25-year award for Chevrolet from Susan Keenehan, Chevrolet’s northern California zone manager. ■ 25 with Ford Phil Godfrey, left, of Phil Godfrey Ford-Mercury in Greenville, Pa., receives a 25-year award for Ford from Brennen Murray, Ford Motor Co.’s Pittsburgh region market representation manager. Conti exec: Inside, it’s about the info Matschi: The key auto interact As head of the interior division at auto supplier Continental AG, Helmut Matschi is in charge of parts such as seat controls, navigation systems and telematics. “At the end, it’s all about information management,” says the 44year-old executive. With interests in the original-equipment and aftermarket segments, Continental sees itself as a bridge between the automotive and consumer electronics industries, he says. Matschi spoke with a group of journalists, including Staff Reporter Leslie J. Allen, at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas about technology trends and Continental’s role in them. ■ 50 with Ford is how driver, Jack Zimmerman, center, of Zimmerman Ford in St. Charles, Ill., receives a 50-year award for Ford. At left is Angela Seitz, FordLincoln-Mercury’s Chicago region zone manager. At right is Mark Buzzell, FordLincoln-Mercury’s Chicago regional sales manager. Helmut Matschi Title: President of Continental AG’s interior division Age: 44 Birthplace: Viechtach, Germany Education: University of Applied Sciences, Regensburg, Germany Background: Joined Siemens AG in 1986 as a development engineer and has held numerous positions at Siemens and Siemens VDO Automotive. Continental bought Siemens in December 2007. Quote: “The car is becoming an IP (Internet protocol) node. We are now linking the home to the car. All the music, video, pictures you have at home will be synchronized like just another room at your home, like a second living room.” Q&A 11”x17” MAILERS NO GIMMICKS! NO DISCLAIMERS! A PIECE IN HOMES don’t watch the roads, you watch your midconsole. Do you see a practical application of autonomous, self-driving vehicles? We see very often that technology can do much more than the consumer in the current situation. The point is, wow, we are developing and working on this thing right now. We are then ready for the time when it will be required. Will we get to the point where there is literally a personal computer in the car? Look at your PC. When you switch it on, cold boot, how long does it take before you can type your first e-mail? How long do you want to wait to switch on your radio? Right now, our job is taking these capabilities but combining them with the requirements of the car industry: fast boot, very high reliability, no box, no hangs, no resets. This is the bridging element. Is Continental involved in the effort to create vehicle-to-vehicle communications networks? Definitely. Connecting to devices is first; connecting to infrastructure is something we might see with the changing of the decade. Car-to-car communication will definitely be next. You do not need a very high penetration of cars equipped with car-tocar functionality. When you are in a sequence of 100 cars, not every car needs to tell you there is an accident ahead. It’s OK when every 10th car is sending that information.c CONFERENCES Libby Irwin, Conference Director lirwin@crain.com, 313-446-0420 Shauna Vercher-Morrow Special Events Manager svercher-morrow@crain.com, 313-446-0485 888-788-0142 What can the consumer electronics industry learn from the auto industry? Integration. We have worked on this in the auto industry for a long time. For example, when you take video, DVD, radio, telephone, navigation, MP3 and CD — all those things have been single elements in the past. What trends are you seeing in the way people interact with their vehicles, sometimes called “human-machine interface”? HMI is everything that informs the driver and the passengers, or that allows the drivers and passengers to have input into the car. There are newer things like capacitive switches (controls that operate by sensing a light human touch). This was something quite new, which we launched for BMW. Also things like speech. Speech is a very important point. In terms of future development, there are other possibilities, like gesture recognition. We have such things in advanced development. What about driver distraction? There is a high amount of information that we could show to our drivers and passengers, but we always want the necessary information to be at the top, in order not to distract. Very often we see right now that central displays do show a lot. But you WWW.AUTONEWS.COM John Fitzgerald, Director of Business Planning and Online Commerce jfitzgerald@crain.com, 313-446-1679 CIRCULATION subs@crain.com 888-446-1422 (U.S. & Canada) 313-446-1662 (all other locations) Fax: 313-446-6777 To subscribe via the Web www.autonews.com/subscribe.htm Patrick Sheposh, Circulation Director Lauren Cialella, Circulation Manager Jennifer Natone, Circulation Coordinator Subscriptions U.S. 1 year, $155; 2 years, $266. Canada $239 (U.S.); other countries, $395. Single copy sales, $5 per issue plus shipping. 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Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Automotive News - February 25, 2008

Automotive News - February 25, 2008 Chamco's 'consultant' is forced into limelight Group 1, Gulf States clash Dealer profit stuck in neutral Ghosn: Autos are in recession NHTSA investigates Toyota, Pontiac cars' windows The upside of upside down: Better belts Push buttons will alter interiors Schwarzenbauer leaves Porsche for Audi CSM: Cuts in auto output to ease in 2nd quarter Ford's Hispanic ad campaign takes it to the mat Hydrogen slips as a solution for the greening of autos Kia to spend big to upgrade dealerships GMAC: Office cuts won't affect dealers LaSorda: Chrysler's $700 million axle plant is 'going up' Toyota hybrid battery partner boosts output Buick may add a car below the LaCrosse Toyota could add 2 more small vehicles to U.S. lineup Calif. regulators shoot for 40-plus mpg by 2020 Loyalty/conquest: Power's best, worst Chrysler firm on retrieving tools from Plastech Former NUMMI exec applies Toyota ideas to aircraft industry Kozyra's resume reflects volatile supplier climate Obituaries Chrysler, Plastech now have chance to work together Do it the NADA way Hail, Geneva; spring must be near Volt's potential is unlimited The Volt is terrific; give GM a hand Beware of high tech running amok Teach reporters half full/half empty Dealer wants to view Conti exec: Inside, it's about the info Dealers Caddy chief's goals: Build on CTS, prestige, high-tech Geneva looks like another green scene Volvo XC60 system senses impact, hits the brakes Saab 9-1 concept awaits green light GM: Supply of vehicles to certify will stay steady Used-vehicle supplies up, prices down in Jan. Black Book plans daily updates Cars.com rolls out video service Manheim launches search tool Luxury sales channel is high on GM agenda GM seeks dealers' help with 5-point green plan Northwood offers dealer MBA Court rejects Chicago dealer's appeal Taxes distort Jan. sales in Europe Nissan to cut designers NHTSA studies window woes Bank: Autos easier to afford VW labor boss gets jail term Delphi sells 2 units Toyota Tundra had tough Jan. Chrysler's white knight: We're investors, not heroes Ford's 'Knight Rider' is Sync on steroids GMAC parties have lost a bit of their pizazz Global warming? It's a crock - but . . . Nardelli's NASCAR debut is a winner A frosty reception for the TSX

Automotive News - February 25, 2008

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